Mommy Dearest
by LunaParvulus
Summary: What happens when you're turned into your earliest life form? Where do you go? A two month pregnancy and giving birth? Mpreg twist... Just plain weird xD Better summary in first chapter! A whole different type of De-Aging fic. Baby!Draco
1. Chapter 1: I'm what! He's where?

**Disclaimer: No. Not mine. I'm only borrowing the characters :D**

A/N: So I got some positive reviews, some thought this is extremely weird (I agree with you there even though I came up with the plot xD). I made up my mind and decided to give this a go. Just watch me! :D

**Summary: **There are two parts to _**Vita Suscipio**_. The first part of the spell will make a person revert to his or her earliest life form. That form will be transferred to the nearest life vessel, or in other words, another person. Victim to the spell will be 'reborn', age every two weeks until he or she would be back to their proper age the time the spell was cast. This spell was created long ago so that a person can relive their childhood... to live a _better_ childhood. The second part of the spell was to make the life vessel be able to carry a child…

Draco Malfoy had been a victim of foul play; someone cast that spell on him, making him vanish on the spot. The nearest person at that time was no other than Harry Potter. Will Harry live through a term of a speedy two-month pregnancy and then give 'birth' to Malfoy? How will Harry cope of playing the role of a 'mother'?

Draco will remember the time he was a baby... and Harry being his 'mum'. After all, this _is_ a magical world.

**To clear things up, Harry isn't going to be truly Draco's mother. There's no way for that to happen. It's just that the spell made things all complicated. This story is to focus on how Harry will take care of baby Draco… with all the fuss and awkwardness. As I said, Harry's pregnancy will only be two months. This means that a week will equal one month in a normal pregnancy :P I'll probably have Hermione and Ron move in with Harry to his private quarters to help him out… I'm sure the other boys in the dormitory wouldn't want a baby crying in the middle of the night… **

I'm not going to be too harsh on our dear Harry… He'll have _some_ idea on what to do with a baby. ;) Draco will be his 'son' after all MUWAHAHAHAHA! –cough cough cough-

**Here goes nothing! The first chapter!**

**Chapter 1: I'm what?! He's where?!**

**.: September 3, 1997 :. **

It was the second day back at Hogwarts. Harry and company were just starting their seventh year there. Events went as scheduled and so, all students were gathered at the Great Hall on this particular morning, waiting for their Head of House to pass out their timetables. The seventh year would get theirs first, then the sixth, the fifth, and so on.

Harry was sitting across of Hermione, who was already busying herself with her nose buried within a book. Ron was sitting on the right side of Harry and was busy in a whole other sense; the redheaded teen was stuffing his face with the delicious breakfast items that had appeared before them five minutes ago. Harry, who was also eating his breakfast but at a slower pace, was happy to be back at Hogwarts; he missed his friends very much and also missed being able to do magic. But since he was now seventeen, he could do magic outside of school anyway.

Just as Harry was eating his porridge, Professor McGonagall walked up to the trio and stood behind Ron, who was oblivious to the fact that his Head of House was standing behind him. McGonagall smiled when Harry looked up.

"Mr. Potter, here's your timetable for the year," McGonagall said as she gave Harry a small sheet of paper. Harry accepted it and skimmed the list.

The professor then gave Hermione her timetable and left Ron's next to the teen's plate. The bushy haired girl looked through her schedule; she then smiled after seeing what classes she was attending.

"I have Charms first… How about you, Harry? Do you have Charms as well?" Hermione asked; she didn't bother in asking Ron. He was still eating.

"Yeah, I have Charms… then double Potions. Oh man… this year is going to be very strenuous." Harry let out a sigh and continued with his list. "After Potions I have DADA, then, History of Magic, and lastly, Transfiguration."

"I'm almost in all of your classes, except I have Arithmancy instead of History of Magic," Hermione said. "I think we have classes with Slytherins this year."

"We do!?" Harry exclaimed; his eyes started twitching when he saw the word 'Slytherin' beside every class. "Fuck… Why are we always with the snakes?"

Ron let out a loud belch before taking his napkin and wiped his mouth clean; he smiled sheepishly when Hermione sent him a glare for being rude.

"Sorry, Mione… Anyways, to answer your question, Harry, we're _always _with the snakes. It's like… Gryffindors are _fated_ to be with them… There's no way around it." Ron picked up his goblet and took a swig of pumpkin juice. "We've been with them for the last six years… Get use to it, mate." Ron licked his lips clean and finally, picked up his own schedule.

"Fate… I think it's just that Dumbledore is trying to make our lives miserable," Harry grumbled. "Especially for Potions. I'm always paired up with Malfoy or some other… Then, Snape blames _me_ for ruining the potion. Snape _hates _me."

Ron patted Harry's back consolingly. "I feel for you, mate. I really do."

Hermione hummed and folded her timetable before slipping it in her book bag. "Oh Harry… I'm sure you don't really mind being with Malfoy, do you?" Hermione asked cheekily. "Everytime he's paired with you, you always have this blush on your face."

"I-I… What?" Harry blinked at the girl. "I do not _blush_ when Malfoy's my partner."

Ron snorted. "Yes you do, mate. I noticed it as well."

Harry growled.

"Well, this is all very nice but I think we should get going now. You don't want to be late for class, do you?" Hermione stood up and picked up her book bag. "Don't look now, but Malfoy's looking at you, Harry." Hermione whispered conspiringly; she giggled when Harry turned his head around to see.

Just like what Hermione said, Malfoy was definitely looking at Harry. The brunet promptly blushed while Draco looked away quickly. Pansy, who was sitting beside Draco, sneered nastily at Harry. Potter frowned and turned back.

"It's the second day of school and I'm sure Parkinson is already plotting something against me," Harry muttered.

"She hates anybody being close to Malfoy," Ron said; he packed his things and stood up as well. Harry followed suit and the trio began walking to the doors. "Since you're always with Malfoy, you must be first on her list."

"Isn't that fantastic?" Harry asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

As they walked farther away from the Gryffindor table, the three friends missed the glint in one of their classmate's eyes. A plan was forming and it was only the matter of time when it would be initiated.

'_Harry… You _will _be mine! I'll just have to take care of Malfoy…'_

HPDMHPDM

As usual and anticipated, every Gryffindor in Charms were paired with a Slytherin. But surprise took over when Harry _wasn't_ paired with Draco. Instead, he was partnered up with Millicent Bulstrode. This really was a first for him. The heavyset girl grunted and dropped her book and bag right onto the table; Harry squirmed uncomfortably and sat down. Bulstrode was so much bigger than he was that Harry didn't really want to make a mistake… She might just beat him up with one of her fists.

The Charms professor, Flitwick, was already standing in the front of the class. The small elf stood on a high platform; his beady eyes scanned across the classroom, nodding in satisfaction when all tables were occupied with one Gryffindor and one Slytherin.

"Class, today we're going to work on the Flame-Freezing charm…"

One student from each pair made a fire. Professor Flitwick had made a small pit in the middle of each table before the class had started. Once Harry had a fire going, he quickly volunteered to do the charm and let Bulstrode be the one to stick her hand into the fire. If the charm was cast correctly, then her hand wouldn't burn and would only feel a warm breeze.

"You better cast the charm right, Potter," Millicent growled; she put her right hand near the flame and glared down at Harry.

Potter nodded weakly and pointed his wand at the flickering fire. "_Incendia Congelo_!" Green eyes watched as the fire shimmered and flickered. All in all, the fire looked exactly the same. "Uh… Do you want me to…?" Harry gestured to the small flame.

Bulstrode sneered at the brunet. "Move aside, Potter. You cast the charm, I'll test it."

Harry took a step back to let the Slytherin stand in front of the fire. Millicent tentatively reached out; she squeezed her eyes shut as she poked her index finger into the fire. Harry bit his bottom lip, praying that the charm was working. He looked away from the fire for a moment and found Malfoy looking in his direction. The blond was partnered with Parvati Patil; Parvati was standing there, her eyes wide as her hand stayed inside the flame without being burnt. When Draco smirked at the green-eyed teen, Harry blushed and quickly looked away.

'_Hermione and Ron were right… I do blush…'_

Harry groaned; his eyes darted to Bulstrode. She was now staring transfixed at her own hand. It was unharmed and Harry was glad.

"Potter, it worked…" Bulstrode muttered; she was twisting and turning her hand inside the flame.

"Thank Merlin…"

The class ended after Professor Flitwick had checked every group's result. It turned out pretty well; only one person had a slightly burned finger. It wasn't too severe, just a bit red on the skin. The whole class slowly piled out; before Bulstrode left, she gave Harry a half smile. Harry was too surprised to do anything other than gaping at the girl. Ron came up to Harry's table and smacked the brunet hard on his back; Harry sputtered and glared at the redhead.

"So how did it go? You didn't burn your hands did you?"

Harry chuckled and shook his head in the negative. "No, Ron, I cast the charm and Bulstrode was the one that tested the fire. Good thing it worked or I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be standing here right now." Harry closed his eyes and shuddered. "How about you, Ron? Did Zabini burn his hand?"

"Ah, well… He was the one that cast the spell, not me," Ron answered. "I don't trust myself to cast the charm…"

Harry smirked then he looked around the room. "Where's Hermione? Did she leave already?"

"Yeah… She said something about first day of class and not wanting to be late…" Ron shrugged carelessly. "It's Snape's class next… If you ask me, I don't really want to be there. But what can I do? I need that class if I want to be an Auror someday."

Harry laughed and hefted his book bag onto his shoulder. As he and Ron walked out, Parvati appeared out of nowhere and matched her steps with Harry. Potter stopped talking with Ron when he noticed another person walking next to him.

"Hey, Parvati… I thought you left already?" Harry greeted the dark-skinned girl. "So how was it like to be partnered up with Malfoy?"

Parvati's brown eyes grew hard for a second. But as she blinked her eyes, it returned to normal. Both Harry and Ron totally missed seeing that.

"Oh… He's very good at Charms…" Parvati waved her hand carelessly. "We didn't talk much. All he said was he was going to do the spell and I would test it."

"Ah… I see," Harry murmured; Parvati scowled but it turned into a smile when Harry looked at her.

"Well, at least he's nicer to you. When we're partners, we do nothing but yell at each other."

"Like having a lovers' spat," Ron snickered; Harry punched the redhead on his arm.

"I think Malfoy is just an outright bastard," Parvati said haughtily. "Harry, you should just forget about him. You don't have to treat him special."

"What are you talking about, Parvati?" Harry asked, laughing. "I don't treat him--"

"Oh, enough with talking about Malfoy," Parvati snapped. "We should hurry to Snape's class." With that, the girl walked past the two teens, not looking back once.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked.

"No idea, mate…"

* * *

"That was horrible…" Harry whined as they left double Potions with Professor Snape. Ron nodded glumly, wholeheartedly agreeing with the brunet.

"It was the longest fucking class in my entire life!" Weasley grumbled. "Three whole stinkin' hours of Snape barking at us; I hate that class."

"I enjoyed it… Though I can do well without Professor Snape sneering down at me," Hermione said. "The Sleeping Draught wasn't that hard to make."

"Easy for you to say, Hermione! _Your _potion didn't boil over like mine did," Ron sniped. "Damn Crabbe is even worse than I am in Potions!"

"Oh, Harry, watch out for…!"

"I was with Parkinson and… What was that, Herm—Oof!" Harry cried out as he collided into someone's solid backside. Harry was rubbing his forehead as he glanced up; he winced when he saw a pair of gray eyes staring at him.

"S-sorry, Malfoy…" Harry grumbled and tried to sidestep the blond. Draco was quicker than he was and blocked Harry's path.

"Potter… You have your dreadful glasses on and you _still_ managed to crash into me… Do you like being so close to me?" Draco smirked when the smaller teen flushed pink.

Ron growled and shoved Malfoy back. "He apologized, you git! And maybe it's just you! You're just standing there like a fucking statue, blocking our path!"

"I'm not even going to waste my breath on _you_, Weasel," Draco sneered; he brushed his chest where Ron had touched him. "I won't be so nice next time, Potter."

Harry just looked down while Ron sneered at the blond. "You watch _yourself_, Ferret!"

"Are you threatening me, Weasel?" Draco snarled. "You should be ca--"

Before Malfoy had the chance to finish his sentence, a jet of bright blue shot out from somewhere to the left of the arguing group. Harry saw the beam and gasped; he grabbed Draco's arms and tried to shove him away, but was too late. The jet of light hit Draco square in the chest; Harry lost his balance and toppled over, landing right on top of Draco… Or what was left of him.

Harry groaned and heard a girl shrieking, most likely Hermione. Then from somewhere above him, he heard Ron cursing non-stop. The brunet pushed himself up… and realized he was touching a pile of _robes_ and that was it.

In the midst of chaos, nobody noticed a soft, white orb settling on Harry's stomach and then it disappeared as it sunk into the boy's abdomen.

"Oh my god… Mal-Draco!" Harry scrambled away and lifted the robes. There was nothing underneath them, not even a strand of blond hair. "Draco… Oh my god… Draco!" He shook the clothing, hoping there was something left of Draco.

Hermione knelt down next to the distraught teen. "Harry… stop… Ron's chasing the person that cast the spell…"

"Did you see who it was? Did you hear what was cast?!" Harry asked frantically. "What happened to Draco?! I saw the light and tried to push Draco away… He's gone… there-there's nothing left!"

Hermione was scared shitless but she remained calm. "No, I didn't hear… Let's hope Ron catches him or her. The person couldn't have gone far."

Harry whimpered and held Malfoy's robes close to him. "Draco disappeared… What if some--" Harry suddenly hissed in pain and doubled over.

"Harry! Harry, what's the matter?" Hermione cried out in alarm; she took hold of Harry's shoulders and steadied the brunet.

"My… My stomach… It hurts," Harry gasped; his hand was splayed over his belly. "Maybe when I fell over, I strained a muscle…"

Hermione studied her friend's face and shook her head; Harry was breaking out in sweat.

"I think it's something else… Harry, can you stand? I'll take you to the infirmary and have you checked out."

"I-I don't…" Harry's eyes rolled to the back of his head and crumpled into a heap. He barely heard Hermione cry out before darkness took over…

* * *

"_-wake. Harry…" _

Potter groaned and turned his face the other way, away from the voice. All he wanted was to sleep…

"Harry, you must wake up. Harry, please!"

Harry grunted and slowly opened his eyes; he hissed and threw one arm across his face. Somebody to his left clucked their tongue and Harry heard curtains closing. A warm hand took his arm and lowered it away from his eyes. Harry blinked blearily at the person; someone handed him his glasses and Harry placed it on.

"Oh… Hermione… What happened?" Harry asked; he struggled to sit up. Hermione reached behind him and propped a pillow against the headboard.

"You fainted from the pain in the hallway," Hermione whispered; she sat down on the chair by his bed. "You're in the hospital wing now. Ron came back with… He caught the person and then saw you on the ground… He helped me with getting you here."

"Who was it?" Harry asked; he looked and saw that a screen was drawn around his bed.

"Uhm… it was Parvati, Harry," Hermione answered. "Ron and I took her to the Headmaster's office while you were still unconscious. She admitted to casting the spell on Malfoy."

"Why… Why did she…" Harry shook his head. "How long was I out? And what was the spell? Can we bring Draco back?"

"Parvati said she wanted to make Draco disappear… Well, apparently she did, but in the wrong sense." Hermione fidgeted on her seat. "You see, Harry, Malfoy isn't really _gone_."

"What do you mean!? There was nothing but his robes!" Harry snapped. "You saw it! Draco wasn't there!"

The screen around Harry's bed was pulled aside and Madam Pomfrey stepped in. "Mr. Potter, I see you're awake. I heard you screaming even though I was in my office."

Harry blushed. "Sorry, Madam. I-I'm just worried about Dra-Malfoy."

"Which is perfectly normal, but I had to agree with Ms. Granger. Mr. Malfoy isn't gone," Poppy said. "He's… located somewhere else so to speak."

"Located somewhere else? I don't understand…" Harry frowned.

Poppy sighed and gestured for Hermione to stand; the girl vacated her chair and stood back. The nurse came over and lifted Harry's dress shirt, baring the brunet's belly. Harry looked at Hermione but all she did was shake her head. When Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Harry's stomach, the boy's gaze was concentrated on the wand. With a muttered spell, the medi-witch brought up a projection right above Harry's belly. In the middle of the projection was a fuzzy mass. Harry squinted at it and arched his eyebrows.

"Is that my stomach? Why is my stomach all fuzzy? I'm not growing _mold_ am I? Is that why my stomach was hurting?"

Hermione stifled a laugh while Poppy rolled her eyes, her lips curved into a small smile.

"No, Harry, you are not growing mold. That fuzzy mass is a young life growing inside of you."

Harry sighed. "Oh, so it's not mold… That's go—WHAT?!" Harry looked down at his stomach then back at the projection. "Did you say 'young life'?!"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, you are around five weeks pregnant and what you just called 'mold' is Draco Malfoy." Poppy explained, pointing at the fuzzy blob. "What you're seeing right here is the fetus's head."

Harry shakily placed his hand on his belly.

"I'm… I'm pregnant and that's Malfoy…?"

For the second time in one day, Harry Potter blacked out.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: A day in Harry Potter's life! xD He never has it easy, does he? :p Aww, Harry's pregnant! He's going to have a cute lil tummy in two weeks' time :D Haha… growing mold xP

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: That's not Normal!

A/N: Er… Yeah. This story is extremely weird… in the beginning! xD I promise I'll make this good and give you the De-aging fic you want! It's a good thing Harry's going to have a short term pregnancy… After giving "birth", he'll take care of Draco… like a mommy should. Don't worry, there won't be breastfeeding and all that weird stuff, since Harry is still a male. The spell just borrowed Harry's body so that Draco can grow and be born again… Otherwise, he really would be gone for good.

**Even though Harry became the "mother", Draco will still be a Malfoy, DNA and magical signature wise. Like I said above, Harry's job is to let Draco grow properly from fetus to baby, and then take care of baby until Draco is back to his normal age. **

As for morning sickness, cravings, back pains, swollen ankles, mood swings, and stretch marks… Yes, Harry will go through all of those lolz!

**Thank you for the reviews! :D**

I'll stop putting dates after Harry gives birth…

**To answer the question of how long it'll take for Draco to age back: roughly 34 weeks (he'll age one year every two weeks). Calculate that; it will take until July of 1998... You know where I'm heading ;D**

HPDMHPDM

(Previously…)

_Harry sighed. "Oh, so it's not mold… That's go—WHAT?!" Harry looked down at his stomach then back at the projection. "Did you say 'young life'?!"_

"_Yes, Mr. Potter, you're around five weeks pregnant and what you just called 'mold' is Draco Malfoy." Poppy explained, pointing at the fuzzy blob. "What you're seeing right here is the fetus's head." _

_Harry shakily placed his hand on his belly. _

"_I'm… I'm pregnant and that's Malfoy…?"_

**Chapter 2: That's not Normal!**

**.: Thursday, September 3, 1997 :.**

The second time Harry came to, he found that it was Hermione _and_ Dumbledore standing by his bed. Just like maybe hours before, Hermione helped Harry sit up and propped his pillow behind his back. The brunet was still groggy but when Hermione offered him a glass of water, Harry gladly accepted it and took a sip.

"Harry, my dear boy, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked; he shifted his robes and sat down on the chair next to the bed. Harry gulped down the water and set the glass on the bedside table.

"Spectacular, sir," Harry said, putting on a fake smile. "I feel absolutely fine… besides the fact that I'm PREGNANT!" Harry yelled, his hands gripping the blanket. Harry breathed heavily for a few seconds; he then looked up and seeing the old wizard smiling softly at him, Harry sighed and relaxed his grip on his blanket. "Please, Professor… Please tell me Madam Pomfrey was joking when she said I'm pregnant… with Malfoy being the child."

Dumbledore chuckled and pushed his half-moon spectacles up. "I'm afraid not, Harry. Madam Pomfrey wasn't joking. I'm sure she showed you the baby that's currently growing inside you?"

"I-I… Yes. She showed me," Harry admitted. "At first, I thought my stomach was growing mold…" Harry blushed when Dumbledore chuckled again. "But then… Madam Pomfrey pointed out the head of the baby and told me I'm five weeks pregnant… and then I fainted." Harry scratched the back of his head absently. "How long was I out?"

Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed by Harry's legs. "Almost an hour, Harry."

Harry nodded; he looked down at his stomach. It didn't look any different. His tight abdominal muscles were still there, it was still flat. If Pomfrey hadn't told him he was pregnant, Harry would think all he had was a bad case of stomachache. But there's no escaping it; there was a life growing inside, he saw the fuzzy blob… and it was Draco Malfoy no less.

Dumbledore and Hermione sat watching as Harry absentmindedly rubbed his still flat belly. When Dumbledore coughed softly, Harry's head snapped up and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Professor… I was getting use to the fact that I'm… carrying a child," Harry whispered. "But… can you tell me how did all of this happen? How did I, all of a sudden, be able to carry a child? And why did Malfoy become—" Harry paused and covered his stomach with his hand, "—a baby growing inside _me_?"

Dumbledore hummed and looked at Hermione. "Ms. Granger, I'm sure you told Harry about Ms. Patil admitting that she was the one that cast the spell."

"Yes, Professor… But I didn't tell Harry what spell it was since… since I never really heard of it either." Hermione bit her lip and smoothed her hand over Harry's blanket covered leg. "She said it was called _Vita Suscipio_… You can roughly translate that as 'Begin Life'."

"I never heard of that before," Harry frowned. "Is it some ancient spell?"

"In a way, yes it is," Dumbledore answered. "The spell was created long ago… It was created so that a person can live a better childhood." The old wizard leaned back against the chair and crossed his legs. "Once the spell was cast on a particular person, in this case it was Mr. Malfoy, the person will revert back to his earliest life form."

"… A developing baby," Harry murmured; Dumbledore nodded. "But why did _I_ become pregnant, Sir?" Harry asked, still thoroughly confused. "Hermione was also there when it happened… How come Malfoy didn't get transferred to her body but mine instead?"

"Ah… You see, Harry, once Mr. Malfoy was hit with the spell, he will only be transferred to the nearest person to him at the time. Ms. Granger told me that you tried to push Mr. Malfoy out of the way, but lost your balance and fell. You probably didn't notice a white orb settling over your stomach at the time."

"Was that why? If Hermione was closer than I was, she would've been the one pregnant and not me?" Harry asked.

"That is correct," Dumbledore answered immediately, "but you were the one that fell on top of Mr. Malfoy, not her. That made you the closest person."

Harry let out a disbelieving laugh; Dumbledore sighed and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I know this is very hard to take in… But I have one question that I must ask you, Harry," the old wizard whispered. "Do you mind being Mr. Malfoy's 'mother' until he is properly aged?"

"H-his mother?" Harry squeaked. "How… long? I know Madam Pomfrey said I'm five weeks pregnant right now… Will I have to go through nine months of pregnancy like a normal woman?"

"No, dear boy… You will not have to go through all those months of pregnancy. The spell will speed up everything. Because of that, you would only go through two months, each week during those two months will equal a month if it was a normal pregnancy."

Harry gulped. "S-so each week my stomach will grow bigger as if a whole month had passed?" Harry felt faint when Dumbledore nodded. "Will I have those crazy cravings as well?"

"I'm afraid so, Harry," Dumbledore smiled.

"Bloody hell…"

"Erm… Harry? You still haven't answered Professor Dumbledore if you mind being the 'mother'," Hermione reminded the brunet.

"Oh… Oh right. Well… Not really," Harry said softly. "I guess I can see this as a chance to… really get to know Draco." Harry smiled and patted his stomach gently; he looked up and grinned at Dumbledore. "Don't worry, Professor, I'll take care of myself and the baby." Harry chuckled and folded his hands over his abdomen. "It would be funny though if Draco remembers everything once he's back to normal…"

"Oh, he will, Harry. You don't have to worry about that," Dumbledore winked at the teen.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

"Harry, are you sure you're alright with all of this?" Hermione asked once Dumbledore left them. Harry sighed and nodded wearily.

"I don't have a choice… I'm pregnant already, I'll give birth to Draco in two months, and then I'll have to take care of him until he's seventeen again." Harry wrapped his arm across his middle and stared up at the ceiling of the hospital wing. "You heard what Dumbledore said. Draco's parents didn't want to take care of him… He said his parents didn't want to go through taking care of a baby again." Harry turned his head and furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not going to leave a newborn child in the hands of people that don't want to take care of a baby."

Hermione smiled and squeezed Harry's hand. "I understand… I'm glad that Professor Dumbledore's giving you your own room… and he wants me and Ronald to move in with you. I think you'll need help taking care of Draco once he's born… again."

"I need all the help I can get," Harry said; Hermione giggled and nodded. "I wonder how Ron will take this. Does he know what's going on?"

"Well, Ron was there when Professor Dumbledore questioned Parvati… he was shocked and had actually yelled at Parvati for… ruining your life in a way."

Harry snorted. "My life was never easy, but it's not ruined." Harry smiled lightly at the girl. "Did Ron stomp out of Dumbledore's office?"

"No, Professor Dumbledore asked me to come back here and check on you while he will have a chat with Ron. I think he explained everything to Ron…"

"Pfft… I hope so," Harry sighed. "Can I leave yet? I've been lying on this bed for so long my back's starting to hurt."

"If you'll give me a few more minutes, I'll release you," Poppy said as she pushed the curtains aside. She smiled when Harry grinned at her. "Dumbledore told you two about the spell, am I correct?"

"Yes," Hermione and Harry chorused.

"Good, so you know what to expect," Pomfrey said; she came to the bedside and once again pointed her wand at Harry's stomach. "Everything's fine but I must warn you, Harry, that you must take it easy from now until November. No running, no jumping, no flying, sleep well, take good care of yourself, and eat healthy foods."

"No flying?" Harry whined. "But--" Harry snapped his mouth shut when Poppy sent him a hard look.

"Be thankful that you'll only go through two months of pregnancy and not the usual nine," Poppy said curtly.

Harry let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes… you're right."

"Of course," Pomfrey sniffed. "Also, you'll have morning sickness until your third week and you might feel slight fluttering in your stomach when you reach your fourth week."

Harry's face lit up. "You mean… I'll feel the baby move?"

Poppy chuckled warmly and nodded. Harry smiled and giggled.

"Wow…"

"Harry, don't get too excited," Hermione giggled. "Once your pregnancy advances further, Draco will be using your kidneys as punching bags and you'll be using the bathroom every fifteen minutes."

Harry laughed. "Punching bags? Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad…"

"Just you wait, Harry… Just wait," Hermione grinned evilly.

Madam Pomfrey covered her smile; she tucked her wand back into her pocket. "Harry, I want you to come back for check-ups every week, is that clear?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Harry answered.

"If you feel any pains or anything out of the ordinary, don't hesitate to come see me, alright?"

"I won't… Can I leave now?" Harry asked; Poppy clucked her tongue and handed Harry his robe.

"Yes, you can leave now." Poppy patted Harry's shoulder and left the teens alone.

Hermione waited as Harry put on his robes and shoes; she handed Harry his book bag and they left the infirmary. Every now and then, Hermione would catch a glimpse of Harry touching his belly and gently rubbing it. She smiled and pretended she didn't notice the small gestures. Because of the green-eyed teen's feelings towards Draco, Hermione hoped that Harry wouldn't have too much trouble when the baby was actually in his arms. But no matter, she'll be there and help.

Unbeknownst to Harry, she was actually anticipating the day she can take care of a baby Draco… Babies were cute, no matter whom they were. Yes, she couldn't wait till the day arrived.

* * *

"Is this where the rooms are?" Harry asked as he and Hermione stopped in front of a large painting.

"That's what Professor Dumbledore said," Hermione answered. "He told us to look for a painting with a child holding a teddy bear."

"Well… there's the child." Harry reached out and touched the canvas of the painting. The little girl in the painting giggled and set her teddy bear next to her.

"Hello! Are you the ones that are going to stay in the rooms? Do ya know the password?" the girl asked. "I'll let ya in if you tell me."

Hermione smiled and said, "Jolly Ranchers."

Harry laughed as the painting slowly swung inward, revealing the entrance to the rooms. The teens were in awe once they took a good look of the rooms presented to them. The living room was as big as the Gryffindor common room; there was a small dining place to their right, a hallway leading to their rooms to their left. Harry dropped his book bag on the couch in the living room and made his way down the hallway. There were five doors; all of them were slightly ajar. Harry peeked into the first door on his left; it was a fairly good sized room. A four poster bed near the far back wall, a wardrobe on the right side of the room, there were a few small book shelves, and a vanity.

Hermione had followed the brunet and she gasped when she looked into the first room.

"Oh, this room is perfect… I think I'll take this one," Hermione gushed. "There are bookshelves…" Hermione pushed her way in went to the shelves; Harry walked in at a more controlled pace.

"I'm sure this room was intended to be a girl's room… There's a vanity here. So unless Ron needs a vanity… I'm sure this room is yours."

Hermione laughed and pushed herself up. She walked to the wardrobe and pulled the doors open. Inside was filled with all of Hermione's clothing, all placed neatly according to color.

"This further proves this room is mine," Hermione said. She turned around after she closed the wardrobe. "Let's check out the other rooms."

Harry and Hermione went out to the hallway and padded deeper down. The room across from Hermione's was the bathroom, fully equipped with a bathtub and a stand-up shower head. Next they ventured to the room next to Hermione's. Harry said that it could be Ron's room and he'll let the redhead teen see once he was here. The last two rooms at the end of the hallway were of course Harry's room and the nursery. Harry had marveled that Dumbledore had put so much thought into this whole situation. Hermione then told the brunet she'll be in her room, checking out the books the shelves had to offer. She left Harry alone to see the nursery.

Inside the baby's room, there was a cherry wood crib with a mobile hanging above, lots of stuffed animals, shelves for clothes and baby items, and toys for the baby. The walls were painted a light blue; clouds were drawn on the ceiling. They floated by as if there was a soft wind blowing.

Harry walked up to the crib and traced his fingers on the cool wood. He placed one hand on his stomach and left it there.

"I promise you, Draco… I'll take real good care of you once you're born," Harry murmured. "I can't wait to hold you… I'll love you and… Hermione and Ron will grow to love you, too." Harry smiled; tears swam in his eyes and he blinked a few times to clear them away.

"Just so you know, Draco… I'll continue to love you even when this is over."

HPDMHPDM

Harry and Hermione were sitting in the living room, chatting away, when the painting revealed one Ronald Weasley stepping through. He glanced at Harry and then at Hermione before smiling tentatively.

Hermione got up from the couch and walked up to him. "So… Did Professor Dumbledore explain things to you?"

"Yeah… it's all a bit much… but I understand what's going on," Ron replied; he went to Harry and sat down next to his friend. "Harry… I… Bloody hell! Is Malfoy really in there?" Ron asked, pointing at Harry's stomach.

Harry chuckled and covered his flat belly with his left hand. "Yup… He's in there alright. I embarrassed myself by asking if my stomach was growing mold when Madam Pomfrey showed me the ultrasound."

"Mold?" Ron snickered. "Mate, he's far from mold… As much as I hate to say this… but Malfoy's this new life… and that's precious, you know?" Ron smiled softly and patted his hand on top of Harry's. "He might've been a right git, but now he'll start fresh in a way… I'm not saying I'll like him even though he'll be a baby, but I'll try my damn best."

"Thanks, Ron… That means a lot," Harry said gratefully. "I'm glad both of you are here to help me… Merlin, if I was alone I wouldn't know what to do with a newborn baby."

"I have some experiences with children," Hermione piped up. "I used to baby-sit my baby cousin before I came to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I had to take care of Ginny," Ron added. "She was a handful, let me tell you. We're only a year apart, so sometimes she bossed me around instead."

Harry snickered. "I hope Draco wouldn't be too much of a problem…"

"I bet he'll give you a hard time," Ron smirked. "Malfoy will probably move around so much that you wouldn't be able to sleep properly."

"Unborn babies do tend to move around a bit once you hit your fifth month…" Hermione mused. "Also, your belly will get in the way so say goodbye to sleeping on your stomach, Harry."

"Noo!" Harry wailed. "I like sleeping on my stomach… Damn it."

Both Ron and Hermione laughed gleefully as their best friend sat there, pouting.

* * *

**.: Saturday, September 5, 1997 :.**

Harry woke up to the feeling of being extremely nauseous. His stomach was rolling and he could taste the bile creeping up his throat. Slapping his hand over his mouth, Harry quickly got off his bed and ran out of his room in top speed. The brunet pushed the bathroom door open and stumbled to the porcelain god. Harry retched and heaved his stomach contents; his dinner from last night came back out. The pregnant teen moaned and flushed the toilet after everything was gone and nothing was left for him to vomit out.

"How am I going to keep my food down…?" Harry asked himself. "I still have two more weeks of this stupid morning sickness." Harry huffed and glared down at his stomach; he poked his belly. "You better be grateful after all of this. I have to suffer while you're all warm and cozy in there."

But then Harry's mind wandered to when he would have Draco in his arms… and his glare quickly turned into a stupid grin.

What a sap.

HPDMHPDM

"Harry, are you alright? You seem a bit pale," Hermione asked, concerned. "I heard you running in the hall earlier… was it morning sickness?"

Harry rubbed his stomach gently. "Mmhmm… This little one is already giving me trouble, and it's only the third day I'm pregnant with him." Harry smiled at his friend to show that he was alright. "Nothing serious though, I just threw up last night's dinner."

"Oh that's gross, mate." Ron made a face. "Thank Merlin I wasn't the one near Malfoy when the spell hit him." He shoved a piece of sausage into his mouth. "I don't think I could live through the pregnancy."

"I'm just glad the spell speeds things up," Harry said. "I would hate to go through morning sickness for three whole months instead of my three weeks." Harry took a bite of his buttered toast. "I would love for food to be kept in my stomach, thank you very much."

"Oh just think when you start showing, Harry!" Hermione squealed, clapping her hands together; Ron and Harry looked at her with arched eyebrows. "I think you'll look so cute with a round belly!"

"Uh… That's great," Harry said, laughing nervously. "I just hope my clothes would fit over my bulging stomach… Shit… _Are_ they going to fit?!"

"I know some spells that can alter your shirts," Hermione offered. "You'll have to wear loose clothing after the fifth week."

"In other words, I'll be dressed in sweatpants and t-shirts the size of tents to classes." Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh joy."

"You'll have to unless you want to be uncomfortable," Ron said. "And I'm sure you don't want to squeeze the baby."

Harry shook his head.

"Come on, boys, let's go visit the Lake. I don't want to stay cooped up in here." Hermione stood up and straightened her light jacket. "Fresh air is good for the baby, Harry."

"Really? Oh… Alright, let me go grab my sweater and we can leave." Harry excused himself from the table and hurried away to his room. Ron stared after his friend and chuckled once Harry walked into his bedroom.

"Harry is really taking this seriously isn't he? We were right when we said he loves Malfoy."

"Yes… I do wish that Draco will…" Hermione trailed off and waved her hand at Harry's room.

"Love Harry in return?" Ron suggested; Hermione nodded.

"Maybe Malfoy will… Who knows?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Quick update! :D I wanted to get the second chapter out so then I can move to my other stories. Next chapter will be when Harry and company meet Draco's Slytherin friends. Then I will progress the pregnancy further, probably up to Harry's "fourth month", which is really him being pregnant for four weeks… and that will be the beginning of October. Harry will get a small bulge by then... and the cravings.

Thanks for reading! ;)


	3. Chapter 3: Pickles, Chocolate & Sardines

A/N: I'm trying to move through the pregnancy as fast as I can, but not too fast so it's like a blur and a whole mess of information is missing. Like I said in the last chapter, _this_ chapter will focus on: Harry's check-up (his third week check-up; I'm skipping his second week), meeting up with some Slytherins, cravings, and then moving on to his fourth week (Harry will feel small flutters).

**Because of Harry being a **_**male**_**, his stomach wouldn't be as big. That is due to his tight muscles and not as much body fat. Harry will have a belly, but it won't be too big. **

Some of the cravings kinda made me lose my appetite :s

**Thank you for the reviews! :D**

**Chapter 3: Pickles, Chocolate, and Sardines**

**.: Thursday, September 17, 1997 :. **

"Harry, just take off your school robes, change into casual clothing, and let's go!" Hermione said loudly at a closed door. "Madam Pomfrey's waiting and we're already fifteen minutes late!"

"Well it's not my fault for feeling nauseous and dizzy all of a sudden while we were coming back!" Harry yelled back; he smiled when he heard Hermione 'humphed' from the other side. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll be out! I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will understand."

"Oh, alright! I'll be in the living room with Ron," Hermione said; Harry heard fading footsteps and let out a breath of relief.

It had been two weeks since Draco Malfoy was hit with the spell and became a baby growing inside of Harry. It had also been two _horrible_ weeks for Harry; he had gone through harsh rounds of morning sickness… and not all of them were during the mornings. Last week was the worst. All Harry needed to do was _smell_ food, fish in particular, and he would run all the way to the bathroom and vomit out his last night's dinner, lunch, or breakfast, depending on the time of day. After the end of the week, Harry concluded that Draco disliked fish since _he_ liked them but now even the smell of fish made him nauseated.

Yes, Draco must've hated fish.

Harry was now three months along in his sped up pregnancy. This also meant the end of the first trimester if he was a woman in a normal pregnancy. Morning sickness was no longer a problem for the brunet; it had stopped two days ago and Harry had actually cried with tears of joy.

There was also another thing that made Harry fairly happy: his belly was starting to show. Hermione and Ron had made fun of him the time when the green-eyed teen had came running out to the living room, shirt pulled up, belly bared for all to see. Once where tight muscles were, there was a slightly rounded curve. Harry had stood, grinning, while Hermione poked and rubbed the small pooch of his abdomen. A growing belly meant a growing Draco and that made Harry more assured the blond teen was really alive in his body.

Harry sighed dreamily and unbuttoned his dress shirt; he shrugged it off and let it dropped onto the bedroom floor. He glanced down at his belly and rubbed it; Harry liked how it felt under his palm. It was like this layer of fat, not too much so, but it was there. His abdomen was no longer toned; it was soft and fun to poke. Harry snorted; he must've spent hours in his room poking and prodding the small bulge.

Potter left his trousers on; they were still loose and not that tight around his stomach yet. He walked over to the bureau and opened the drawer that kept his t-shirts. Harry took out a dark blue shirt, put that on, and grabbed a black jacket that was left on top of the bureau. By the time he was out in the living room, Hermione was standing by the couches, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"That took more than a few minutes, Harry," Hermione grouched. "Were you playing with your baby bump again?"

Harry just winked as an answer; Hermione rolled her eyes but was smiling nonetheless. Ron just sat there, chortling.

"I don't even want to think about what would happen when Draco starts moving in there," Hermione said.

"I think I'll be very… scared," Harry answered honestly. "I mean, there's something _moving_!"

"I'm sure you'll love it, mate." Ron grinned.

Harry shrugged. Maybe he will.

HPDMHPDM

"Now, Harry, do you have any abnormal pains around your stomach?" Madam Pomfrey asked; she took the hem of Harry's shirt and rolled it up to reveal Harry's midsection.

"No, no pains. My morning sickness is done and over with though," Harry said happily. "I am glad to be able to keep my food down."

Poppy hummed and moved closer to the bed on her rolling chair. She had tested Harry's blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar already; everything turned out normal. All that was left to do now was check on the baby's vitals.

"I'm happy to tell you that you are far along enough to hear the baby's heartbeat clearly," Madam Pomfrey informed the brunet. "Would you like to hear it? I have to check his heartbeat anyway."

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks with each other; Harry nodded enthusiastically at the nurse.

"I want to hear it! I want to see Draco as well if it's not too much trouble…" Harry said sheepishly.

Poppy chuckled and retrieved her wand. "I'll put up the projection like last time."

She waved her wand over the small bulge of Harry's belly. Immediately, a white mist formed into an orb above Potter's stomach. The medi-witch moved the tip of her wand around; she smiled when she finally saw the head of the baby.

"Well, this time you can clearly see the eyes, nose, ears, mouth… Oh and there are his arms," Madam Pomfrey said, pointing at a thin limb that looked somewhat like an arm.

Hermione giggled at Harry's opened mouth expression. The teen reached out and traced his fingers on the projection.

"Draco's… really in there. Well, it looks nothing like him yet… but it's really Draco in there." Harry moved his fingers away and looked at the nurse. "Can I hear his heartbeat now?"

"Hold on just a moment… I have to see if everything is forming properly," Poppy murmured. She moved her wand down and the projection showed the baby's legs. Harry smiled when he saw the little feet. The nurse muttered an incantation and suddenly, the area around the bed was filled with a soft 'ba-thump, ba-thump'.

"That's Draco's little heart beating," Poppy said; she showed Harry and Hermione the dark dot in the baby's body. "He has a regular heartbeat so it's safe to say everything is fine."

Harry pulled down his shirt and sat up on the bed. "So… The baby's alright?" He asked as he zipped up his jacket.

"Yes, he's growing quite nicely. I would say the baby's around seven centimeters long… He's still pretty small in there." Poppy told the brunet; she moved her chair back when Harry swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I just want to remind you that you might start feeling the baby shift once you hit your fourth week, which is the coming week."

Harry stood up with the help of Hermione and hugged the medi-witch. "I'm aware of that. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

"No problem, dear. Now, move along. I don't want you to miss your dinner," Poppy whispered and held Harry at arms length. She laughed softly when Harry's stomach let out a small rumble. "Well, I think the baby is trying to say he's hungry."

"Yeah… for the past few days I think I've been eating a lot more… I won't be too surprised if I gained a few pounds." Harry rubbed his bump through his shirt. "Hermione here had been acting like my mother, always making me eat." Harry grinned cheekily when Hermione pinched his arm.

"That's good! You and the baby need all the nutrients you can get," Pomfrey said. "Now go. The next time you come for your check-up, I'll check on your weight as well."

"I might gain half a stone by then," Harry laughed.

"Don't worry, Harry. I'll make sure you won't gain _too_ much." Hermione smiled widely.

"Hey!"

* * *

**.: Monday, September 21, 1997 :.**

It was eight o' clock in the morning. Hermione and Ron sat in front of Harry, staring wide eyed at their friend. Hermione was holding her goblet in her hand, midway to taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. Ron, on the other hand, was holding his knife and fork, ready to cut into his ham but wasn't. They were too busy watching Harry eat.

Harry was unaware to his friends' behavior. He was busy eating his own breakfast. Normally, people wouldn't really call what he was eating… breakfast. It seemed that there was a special order to the house elves of Hogwarts that they will give Harry Potter whatever he wanted to eat. Thus, Harry, in this particular morning, wasn't eating what every other student was eating.

There was a bowl, you see, filled with mashed potatoes. Within the heap of mashed potatoes were slices of pickled carrots (almost the same as pickles), buried right into the fluffy potatoes. Covering the carrot slices and mashed potatoes, was chocolate syrup. That's right, folks, chocolate syrup dribbled onto pickled carrots on a pile of mashed potatoes. But it didn't end there. Hermione had taken a closer look at Harry's bowl of… breakfast and found small pieces of red.

"Harry… uh… what are those red slivers in your mashed potatoes?" Hermione was trying hard not to make a face. It might hurt Harry's feelings. You didn't want that when there were those mood swings…

Ron didn't even bother trying to hide it; he was gagging a bit. But he was still eating his own breakfast with no problems.

"Hm? Oh… I wanted some spice so I asked for chili," Harry answered, swallowing a bit of the mashed potatoes. "It's really good. You want to try some?" Harry pushed his bowl towards Hermione who quickly shook her head.

"Uh… No, it's fine. I'm full…" Hermione smiled.

Ron placed his knife and fork down and poked Hermione in the arm. The girl moved her head closer so that the redheaded teen could whisper into her ear.

"Should we tell Harry what he's been eating once this whole pregnancy thing is over?" Ron muttered. "That is _not_ breakfast. I feel a bit sick seeing what's in there. I mean… pickled _carrots _with chocolate syrup? Come on!"

Hermione glanced over at Harry; the teen had his head down, devouring his food. She glared at Ron and her lips formed a thin line.

"Don't you dare say a word about it to Harry, Ron," Hermione warned. "If he gets all pissed it's your fault. You know how mood swings are. He could be happy one minute and biting your head off the next."

"Yeah, you're right." Ron nodded; he shuddered and drank all his juice in one go.

Hermione rubbed her forehead; it was going to get weirder as the weeks went by.

HPDMHPDM

Class with Snape was surprisingly quiet. The Slytherins all seemed to be watching Harry from their seats. Harry had walked into class, only to find almost all Slytherins staring back at him. Snape went on with class as if nothing happened; it was as if Draco didn't disappear. But Harry had caught the Potions master glaring at him once or twice. When it was time to brew the Dreamless Sleep, Harry was paired up with Pansy Parkinson. The girl sneered at him once she was at Harry's table and then sat down on the stool, not paying any attention to the brunet next to her.

When Snape gave the order for the class to start brewing, Harry was going to bend down to take out a cauldron when he felt a hand clamped onto his bicep.

"I'll get the cauldron, Potter," Pansy smirked and snatched the metal cauldron from under the table before Harry had the chance to reply.

"Er… I could've gotten it… It's not that hard to--" Harry started but was cut off when Pansy rolled her eyes and slammed the cauldron on top of the table.

"I know what happened and I know that you're carrying Draco inside you," Pansy whispered; she took a quick look at her Head of House before talking again. "I hate saying this, but that's my friend in your stomach. I don't want you to miscarry or something because you're doing something strenuous or stupid."

Harry scratched his face and smiled at the girl tentatively. "Oh. I uh… It was just a cauldron. It's not _that_ heavy."

"You were bending! You could have squashed Draco!" Pansy hissed; she sighed when Harry backed away from her, holding his hands in front of him. "Okay, maybe I exaggerated. But I… God damn it, Potter! Look, can we talk about this? After all of our classes are over? You can bring Granger and Weasley if you want."

"Talk? Talk about what?" Harry asked as he dumped the base of the potion into the cauldron.

"Potter… Draco is one of us. He's our friend. When I say our, I mean me and Blaise. We're worried about him, Potter. Draco's going to be a baby… and… Fuck, I'm getting all mushy."

Harry smiled at the girl. "You want to be there for Draco, is that right? You want me to let you see him once he's uh… born."

Pansy sneered and turned away, but nodded lightly in answer. Harry touched her hand briefly and pulled away.

"Why don't you bring Zabini with you to my rooms tonight?" Harry suggested. "I'm staying very close by the Headmaster's office. Look for a large painting with a little girl holding a teddy bear. She has blonde hair… I think you'll find her easily. Knock four times and I'll know it's you."

"Alright…"

Harry nodded and started the fire; he felt a tap on his arm and turned to look at the Slytherin.

"Thanks, Potter," Pansy mumbled; she reached for a glass jar and took the contents out.

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Ron, would you stop pacing back and forth in front of me? You're making me dizzy," Harry chided. "It's just Parkinson and Zabini. They're harmless." Harry sighed and leaned back against the couch, his hand rubbing circles on his curved out belly.

"Harry… they're Slytherins! Maybe they're going to do something to you! But don't worry, I have my wand in my pocket," Ron said, patting his jeans. "You never know what those snakes could do."

"For goodness sakes, Ronald! They're Draco's friends, just like we're Harry's friends." Hermione sat down in an armchair and watched Ron pace. "They have the right to see Draco once he's born."

Ron grumbled and dropped down on the armrest of Hermione's armchair. All three heads looked up when they heard four rapid knocks.

"Must be them," Harry said and pushed himself up. He chuckled when Ron looked all tensed again. "Just relax, Ron. Nothing's going to happen."

"I'll relax when they're gone," Ron grumbled.

Harry stretched his back before walking over to the portrait. He pushed it out and found Pansy and a dark-skinned and quite handsome teen standing next to the girl. Harry smiled and waved them in.

"I was a bit worried you guys would have trouble finding the painting," Harry said as he led the Slytherins into the room. The painting slid shut behind them.

Parkinson and Zabini looked around the room with approval. At least it was a decent place for Draco to live in during this period of time. They stopped walking when Hermione and Ron came to view. The bushy-haired girl smiled disarmingly at them while Ron refused to look at either Pansy or Blaise. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to address his guests.

"Why don't you guys make yourselves comfortable? I'm going to go get something to eat… It's the cravings, you know?" Harry smiled sheepishly before leaving the snakes with the lions.

Pansy glanced over at the redhead and Granger; she smirked before sitting across from them. Zabini followed suit but he seemed a bit nicer than the girl. He smiled widely at Hermione and Ron.

"I'm sure you already know who we are so there's no need for introductions," Blaise chirped; Pansy growled next to him. "Did Potter tell you guys why we're here?"

"Yes, Harry mentioned it… We completely understand that you want to visit Draco once in awhile. We're not stopping you," Hermione said. "We're just asking one thing. We want you to inform us beforehand so we'll know when to expect you."

Pansy snorted but inclined her head in agreement. "Very well. These _are_ your rooms and not ours. It's only polite." She turned her head and looked in the direction of where the dining room was. "Is Potter alright? I thought he was just getting food."

Ron, for the first time since the Slytherins stepped into the room, looked right into Pansy's eyes. "He's probably mixing some weird as hell combinations of food together."

Blaise arched his eyebrows. "Weird combinations? How so?"

"You'll see when Harry comes out," Hermione chuckled.

As if waiting for that signal, Harry came back out from the dining room with a bowl. None of the teens that were sitting saw what was in it, but Hermione and Ron knew it would not be something normal or good for _them_.

Harry sighed happily and set his bowl on the coffee table before sitting down on the floor. He took the pickle that was put into the bowl and used it to mix the contents. Pansy leant forward and her eyes grew wide.

"Potter! What the hell are you eating? Is that good for the baby?!" Pansy shot out. "That… that looks… Oh Merlin."

Harry continued stirring and then took a bite of the pickle. "Of course it's good! Draco hadn't complained." He dipped the bitten end of the pickle back into the bowl. "It's a pickle, obviously, and chocolate pudding, chopped onions, chips, and a dash of pepper."

Pansy sat back and her hands dropped to her sides, limp. Blaise just shook his head in disbelieve.

"Just as long… the baby's really fine with all that… food," Pansy murmured; Blaise just nodded in agreement. Parkinson sent a look of disgust at Hermione, who only shrugged; Ron looked a bit green.

"Yeah, it's fine. Quite tasty if you ask me. I would offer you some, but I'm hungry," Harry mumbled through another bite of chocolate pudding dipped pickle. He took a chip and put the whole thing into his mouth. "I have to eat more so that the baby can grow." Harry leaned back a bit and let the Slytherins see the small bulge; the brunet smiled and patted his stomach.

When Pansy saw the bump, she did something that took Hermione and Ron by surprised. She smiled softly and got off her seat to kneel beside Harry. The green-eyed teen looked up, his cheeks puffed out from food, and stared at her questioningly.

"Can-can I feel?" Pansy whispered. "I understand it's a bit weird but--"

Harry took her hand and gently placed it on top of his belly; Pansy sucked in a breath and looked at her hand, her eyes wide in wonder.

"You can't feel him move yet. Madam Pomfrey said he'll move soon… at the end of this week probably. I'll be entering my fourth month," Harry told the girl. "Hey… why don't you come with me for the check-up? That way Madam Pomfrey can show you the ultrasound as well." The brunet looked at his friends; Hermione smiled and nodded while Ron just shrugged.

"That… You want me there?" Parkinson asked in a low voice.

"He offered, Pans," Blaise spoke up. "Just go with him, nothing weird about that. It's just a check-up like Potter said."

"Oh… When's your check-up?"

"This Thursday," Harry answered. "I'll be there with Mione at around five." Harry grinned when the pug-nosed girl smiled lightly in return.

"I'll meet you there, Potter."

* * *

**.: Thursday, September 24, 1997 :. **

"Harry! Oh I swear! Stop looking for food! We're supposed to meet Pansy today," Hermione chastised. "Just grab a pickle or something and let's go! Have you noticed there's a pattern here?" Hermione asked. "Every time there's a check-up, I have to wait for you and we end up being late."

Harry closed the refrigerator and turned around, holding a tub of ice cream. "I'm hungry! You don't want me to starve the baby do you? And no pickles, I don't feel like eating pickles today." Harry rummaged through some drawers before finding a spoon to eat his ice cream with.

Hermione groaned and stomped over to the teen; she hooked her arm with Harry's and dragged the boy out from the dining room. She glanced sideways and saw what was inside the tub of ice cream.

"Harry, are those _fish tails_?!"

Potter was digging around the vanilla ice cream when Hermione asked him the question.

"Aha!" Harry spooned out a chunk of ice cream along with half a sardine. "Yeah… they're sardines. I wanted something… fishy."

Hermione sighed loudly. "I thought you said Draco hated fish."

"Nah… Draco's fine with sardines today. I really wanted sardines…"

The girl didn't answer; she pulled Harry out of the rooms and they made their way to the hospital wing. When they were near the infirmary, Pansy was already there, standing by the doors. She smirked when she saw Harry holding a tub of ice cream.

"Did he get the sudden urge to eat again?" Pansy asked Hermione; the Gryffindor nodded. Pansy scoffed and peered into the container. "Are those—"

"Don't ask," Hermione interrupted. "But yes, they are fish tails, as you can clearly see."

"Ugh…" Pansy shuddered and pushed the doors open.

Madam Pomfrey was treating a young student when the three teens walked inside. She looked up and looked shocked for a second to see Parkinson with them. But then she just smiled and jerked her head at Harry's usual bed.

"Just sit on the bed and wait for me. I'll be done in a few minutes," Poppy said to Harry. "And Harry, try not to make a mess with the ice cream."

Harry was licking his spoon so he only nodded in reply.

Five minutes later, Madam Pomfrey came over to the trio; she pulled the curtains around the bed closed. Pansy and Hermione stood by the foot of the bed and just let the medi-witch do her routine.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Poppy asked; she took the hem of Harry's shirt and rolled it up until it gathered upon Harry's chest. Harry's bump, now the size of a small ball, showed. "Well, it seems your belly grew a bit bigger this week. Not surprising since you've just entered the fourth month."

Harry dropped his spoon into his now empty tub and set it aside. "It could also be because I've been eating a lot more the past week." Harry cradled his bulge with his hand. "Madam, can you show Pansy the ultrasound? I asked her to come with me today so that she can see Draco."

The next half hour consisted of Pansy gaping like a fish out of water when she saw her friend's image in the ultrasound, testing Harry's blood pressure, checking his weight, and the baby's vitals and development.

"Mr. Malfoy's growing nicely. Harry, you have gained four pounds this week," Madam Pomfrey informed; Harry sat up and covered his belly with his hand.

"Four pounds?" Harry sighed and looked down at his middle. "Draco… You're going to make me fat when this is over."

"You're not fat, Potter. Besides, you can always work it off afterwards," Pansy smirked.

The medi-witch nodded in agreement. "Ms. Parkinson is right. Harry, you should really eat more vegetables and fruits… not a whole tub of ice cream. I know you have cravings, but you must control yourself."

Harry pouted and unconsciously rubbed his baby bump. "But I wanted ice cream!"

"With sardines, Harry?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised.

Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands.

* * *

**.: Thursday, October 1, 1997 :. **

Harry was poking at his onion pancakes covered with hot sauce when suddenly he felt a small flutter in his belly. He gasped and dropped his fork, hands flying to his stomach. Harry looked down and pressed his fingertips into the soft flesh. There it was again, a small shift.

"Harry, is something wrong? Are you in pain?" Hermione asked worriedly; Harry shook his head vehemently.

"No… I-I think the baby moved!" Harry looked up and beamed. "Draco moved! It's the first time I felt it… Wow, it's weird."

The green-eyed teen rubbed his quaffle sized bump; he chuckled when the baby shifted again. He just crossed the fifth month mark today. The first thing Harry noticed this morning was that his belly grew some more. Hermione then told him to start wearing the loose t-shirts; the normal dress shirts would be tight over his stomach now. So now, Harry was dressed in a white shirt with trousers; his robes still pretty much hid his swollen stomach.

"Malfoy was probably complaining about you feeding him onion pancakes," Ron snorted.

"Maybe…" Harry whispered; he massaged his distended belly. "I'm sorry, Draco… I'll let you go back to sleep… or whatever that you do in there. I just got a bit excited that's all." Harry said to his stomach.

Harry grinned when Draco answered by shifting and then finally settling down.

Hermione giggled at the cuteness of it all and Ron rolled his eyes, but was smiling.

"Let's hope Malfoy wouldn't use Harry's bladder as a trampoline."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Ah, it's so fun to type this story… and it's cute! Harry being all gushy (it's probably not even a word) and in awe. I like nice Slytherins… so Pansy and Blaise will be nice :D Yeah… they're OOC. The birth _might_ be in the next chapter. I don't know yet :P

Thanks for reading! ;)


	4. Chapter 4: Child of Mine

A/N: I'm going to cut straight to the end of Harry's seventh month. I've planned (yes, I planned) to have the birth in this chapter. Say 'Yay' to baby Draco :3 Aww… -huggles a teddy bear- No touch. My teddy.

**Harry is going to go through PAIN! PAIN!! Labor pains.**

… and he'll feel like a fat slug before the birth.

**Thank you for the reviews! :D**

I was thinking of leaving the dates. Should I leave the dates? Say 'yay' or 'nay' :P

**-throws a sardine at you-**

**Chapter 4: Child of Mine**

**.: Tuesday, October 20, 1997 - 12:35 a.m :.**

Harry groaned and rolled to his other side; he reached behind his back and snatched the pillow, stuffing it under his humongous belly. Draco was restless tonight. Just like every other night since Harry reached the sixth month. He was now nearing the end of the seventh; just two more days and he'll be in the eighth month mark.

The green-eyed teen draped his arm across his swollen belly and pressed his fingers down. He could feel an elbow or maybe it was Draco's tiny foot, he didn't know for sure. Harry winced when the baby landed a kick at his ribs. Harry closed his eyes and continued to massage his abdomen; it was the size of a large watermelon now.

"Be a good baby and let me sleep tonight, Draco," Harry pleaded softly; he whimpered when Draco jabbed his spleen. "How come you're always so active during the nights and you sleep during the mornings?" Harry sighed and stopped rubbing; the skin around his belly was getting itchy. "I bow down to women that go through pregnancy multiple times."

Harry opened his eyes and grabbed the pillow next to the one he was sleeping on. He put that pillow on top of the one that was under his stomach at the moment. Ever since last week, Harry could no longer sleep comfortably without putting pillows underneath his pregnant stomach. The weight of the baby pulled his stomach down, making his back hurt. Sometimes, Harry thought it would be better if he just tied the pillows to his belly when he slept.

Potter was about to drift off when Draco did a straight-arm punch to his bladder. The teen growled and pushed himself to a sitting position; it took awhile, his belly was making it hard for him to sit up.

"This is ridiculous," Harry muttered; he put on his glasses and got off the bed.

Harry waddled, yes _waddled_, to the bathroom and relieved himself. As he was washing his hands, Harry took a good look at his reflection on the mirror. He took a step back and lifted up his sleep shirt. He didn't even need to bother with his sleeping pants; they were riding low under the curve of the large bulge.

Stretch marks decorated the bottom half of his rounded belly; they looked like claws creeping to his navel. Hermione had suggested that he should start putting on some lotion or oils onto his stretched skin. Harry listened and his skin looked a bit better.

Potter put his hand on his belly, where the top ended and the chest began. "You're just growing everyday now aren't you?" Harry smiled when Draco answered with a light kick. He could actually see the shape of the baby's foot under the skin. Harry used the tip of his index finger and tenderly pressed down on the foot. "I know it's a bit cramped in there but you'll just have to wait one more week. You'll be out soon." He covered his belly with the shirt and walked out of the bathroom.

Harry grunted as he slowly lay down onto the mattress; he turned to his right side and fixed the pillows beneath his belly. The brunet, who was absentmindedly rubbing soothing circles on his tummy, suddenly stopped. Some time while Harry was massaging, Draco had settled.

"… How _are_ you going to come out?" Harry asked. "Oh… Shit."

* * *

**.: Tuesday, October 20, 1997 – 8:46 p.m :.**

Harry sighed wearily and shifted his body to the left a bit; the armrest of the sofa he was sitting on hit the outermost part of his rounded abdomen. Right now, Harry was trying to make himself comfortable in the sofa, but the darn thing was so soft, he just _couldn't_ get comfy. Harry growled; he was sliding down in the sofa. He pressed his palms down and pushed his heavily pregnant torso up.

"Harry, is your back bothering you?" Hermione asked, looking up from her parchment; she and Ron were doing their Charms homework on the coffee table.

"Yeah, mate. You've been shifting around for the past twenty minutes," Ron added.

Harry sat forward, belly resting on his thigh, and pressed his hand into his back. "The small of my back is bothering me. It's like I'm being pricked by pins or something." Harry sat back again and splayed his hand over the curve of his bump; he then rested his head on the back of the sofa. "I'll just sit straight and not move much."

Harry had stopped going to class since last week. Madam Pomfrey had told him that some of his classes might get dangerous for him since he was so far along now. At first, Harry just stopped going to DADA and Potions; one was because spells could hit him or his belly and harm the baby, the other was because of all the fumes he was breathing in. But soon, Harry stopped going to his other classes as well. All the frequent trips to the bathroom and him constantly feeling tired prevented Harry from paying much attention to Charms, History of Magic, and Transfiguration. The Headmaster then told all of Harry's professors that he wouldn't be attending classes until Draco was born and was aged to at least two years old. That gave Harry almost a month and a half of resting time.

Harry was happy to stay in his rooms; he wanted to use all the free time to catch up on his sleep. But even though he had all the time in the world, Harry hardly slept. Draco would be literally bouncing around in his stomach during the nights; sometimes even the afternoons. It was like Draco _knew_ when Harry was going to take a nap.

Potter grimaced when Draco punched his kidney. It was nighttime so Draco was getting active again.

"Hermione… I have something to ask you."

Hermione stopped writing in her essay and looked up. She then frowned at the teen. "Harry, you look terrible! Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey? Is the pain bad?"

"No… it's not the pain… I'm just tired," Harry muttered. "Draco woke me up last night, at midnight, by stepping on my bladder and doing some sort of a dance in there. I never got the chance to fully fall back asleep. I was trying hard to sooth the baby back to rest, but it didn't work apparently." Harry rubbed his face tiredly. "Anyways, I have a question."

Hermione put her quill into her inkbottle and got up; she walked to the sofa Harry was sitting on and sat down next to the tired teen. She reached out and put her own hand on top of Harry's bulge. Harry sighed and dropped his own hand when the girl started rubbing small circles.

"Well… you're not going into labor. Your stomach is not hard… I was worried that you were. It would've been too early," Hermione said; Harry smiled tiredly. "Anyway… What do you want to ask?"

"Er… You know how I'm getting really close to giving birth? Well… I want to know how… how Draco is going to come out," Harry asked awkwardly; he was blushing. "I don't have the proper… parts like women do! I can't be pushing Draco out of my arse am I?!" Harry grabbed Hermione's hand, stopping the girl from rubbing his belly. Green eyes darted around frantically as he watched Hermione's expression. "He's not going to _fit_! It's going to hurt…" Harry added meekly.

Hermione stopped herself from laughing by clamping her lips tightly shut. Ron let out a loud guffaw, his face red from laughing. Harry glared at them and dropped Hermione's hand; he put both of his palms flat on his swollen belly and rubbed.

"It's not funny!" Harry snapped.

Hermione cleared her throat and put on a straight face for her distressed friend. "Harry, listen to me and listen to me good." She nodded when Harry turned to face her. "The baby, Draco, will not be coming out from your behind. You do not have a birth canal to begin with so there's no way for you to give birth to Draco naturally like a woman can."

"So… So I'm not going to be pushing him out through my arse?" Harry asked; he was smiling again. "That's good…"

"I think Madam Pomfrey is going to perform a Caesarian," Hermione surmised, "and that is completely painless."

"It won't be painless when Harry goes through labor," Ron said; he shrank back when Hermione glared at him. Ron puffed out his chest. "You know he has to wait. Pomfrey can't take Malfoy out right away…"

Harry was tense again; he took Hermione's hand and squeezed. "What did Ron mean 'it won't be painless'?! I thought I would be numb for the C-section!" Harry was looking back and forth between the redhead and Hermione. "Madam Pomfrey's not going to cut me open without numbing me, right!?"

Harry's voice was shrill by now; he groaned and soothed the baby within his body. He got so worked up that Draco had started kicking him again.

"Harry, calm down; you're upsetting Draco," Hermione chided when Harry went back to massaging his belly. "You're not even listening! Ron said through the labor, not through the C-section. He meant that you'll probably have to go through contractions and wait until Draco has dropped low enough to be safely taken out."

"Oh…" Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He sighed when he finally got Draco to calm down. "Scared me for a moment there…"

"You have nothing to worry about, Harry," Hermione said softly. "Madam Pomfrey will tell you when you get your next check-up."

"Hopefully she—ah…" Harry recoiled and wrapped his arm across his bulging stomach. "Mione, can you help me up? Draco just decided to use my bladder as a punching bag. I swear my bladder had shrunk to the size of a peanut."

Hermione chuckled and helped the pregnant teen stand. Harry moaned softly and stretched his back. "My ankles are killing me… didn't know they were hurting until now." He looked at Hermione and frowned. "How do women go through with this?"

"We're just strong like that," Hermione smiled. "Come on, let's go before you wet yourself."

"I can get there on my own, thanks." Harry rolled his eyes. "I'll probably end up going back ten minutes later."

Hermione stood watching until Harry shuffled to the bathroom. She sat down on the sofa and grinned at Ron, who had been chuckling the whole time Harry waddled away.

"Malfoy coming out from his arse…"

Ron squawked when Hermione threw a cushion at him, hitting him square in the face.

* * *

**.: Saturday, November 1, 1997 – 10:50 p.m. :.**

Yesterday was Harry's last check-up. When Madam Pomfrey told him that the baby will make his entrance any day now, Harry got scared. Sure, he'll be holding Draco in his arms… but was he ready to be taking care of a newborn baby? Harry then asked the medi-witch when Draco was due; the nurse merely shrugged and told Harry that babies can come whenever they feel like, it could be a week passed the due date or more before the baby came.

It was Saturday and also a Hogsmeade weekend. Harry had told Hermione and Ron to go ahead to the village but they told him they'll stay, just in case Harry suddenly went into labor. Harry gulped and expressed his thanks; it would be very troublesome if he went into labor alone.

Now, it was late at night and Harry was just sitting in the armchair (the sofa was too soft for his comfort), watching Ron and Hermione play chess. He hissed quietly when a dull pain shot up his back. It was a very small ache, but he had been getting them since morning. Sometimes the pain would start from the lower part of his belly and then spread out to his back. It came and went every two hours; Harry didn't put too much thought on it. It was probably because Draco was now heavier and the weight was putting a strain on his poor back. Harry shrugged it off and continued to sit there without saying a word about his discomfort.

Throwing all worries aside, Harry now looked down and smoothed his shirt over his extremely swollen belly. He smiled when he saw a distinct ripple across his abdomen. The baby didn't move as much now. Harry had asked Pomfrey about that and the nurse told him it was because the baby's body was much bigger than before and there's not much room for him to move. Harry was glad; he knew all the kicking and punching Draco did was sure to give his organs bruises.

Harry poked at his belly; he frowned when the muscles underneath his finger wasn't relaxed. They were a bit tight and his stomach as a whole felt sort of hard.

'_I'm not… it's not hurting. I don't even have contractions yet.' _Harry thought worriedly.

As he scooted up on his armchair, the green-eyed teen suddenly winced in pain. The dull throb was back, only this time it was from his abdomen creeping to his lower back, and it hurt a bit more. Harry clutched his belly and waited for the wave of pain to pass.

"Hey, guys… I think I'm going to head off to bed. I'm knackered," Harry murmured; his hand was still cradling his large stomach.

Hermione looked away from the chessboard and tilted her head. "Harry, are you okay? You're clutching your stomach… Is it hurting?"

"I'm not… I've been getting small pains every now and then," Harry admitted.

Hermione was instantly alarmed; she got off the floor and was by Harry's side in seconds. Ron looked concerned as well and went to Harry, putting his hand on the smaller teen's back. Ron started massaging and Harry felt a little better but his stomach still felt tight.

"How long have you been feeling the twinges of pain?" Hermione demanded. "Why didn't you say anything, Harry? You could be in labor!"

Harry was about to answer but another sharp pain rippled across his stomach. Suddenly, he felt as if a rope was tightening around his belly and _squeezed._

"Oh… Oh god…" Harry bent forward and grabbed Hermione's forearm. "Mione, I-I think the baby's coming…" Harry whimpered and clutched his shirt, trying to alleviate some pain. "Contractions are starting…"

Hermione straightened Harry's back and supported the brunet; she turned to Ron. The redheaded teen nodded.

"I'll get Madam Pomfrey. You go get him comfortable, Hermione." Ron dashed off to the front door and out to get the school nurse.

"Breathe in and out, Harry. Take deep breaths and try to relax," Hermione coached. Harry did what was asked; he relaxed when the pain ebbed away.

"The pain's gone… but it'll come back huh?" Harry asked; he let Hermione guide him to his bedroom. "Am I going to—" Harry waved his hand at his room, "—give 'birth' in there?"

"I'm not going to have you walk all the way to the hospital wing with the condition you are in," Hermione said firmly.

They walked into Harry's bedroom and Hermione carefully helped Harry onto the bed. She propped up some pillows behind the boy's back so that Harry could half sit and half lay on the mattress. Hermione sat down beside the pregnant teen and put her hand on top of Harry's belly.

"You're in labor alright… Your stomach's as hard as a rock!" Hermione looked at Harry sternly. "Why didn't you say you were feeling pains? Were you going to wait until tomorrow or something?!"

Harry looked sheepish. "I thought it was just back pains since Draco's so much heavier now." Harry gritted his teeth when contractions started again. "God, it hurts!"

Hermione frowned and took out her wand; she cast _Tempus_ and had the time hover above them.

"Your contractions are five minutes apart," Hermione murmured; she turned to Harry and took his hand. "Draco will be here soon."

Harry whined in pain and squeezed her hand, hard. "He better be here soon!" Harry sobbed and laid his head on Hermione's shoulder. "Where's Madam Pomfrey? I—"

Harry's eyes suddenly widened in shock and looked down at his stomach.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"Draco is definitely not waiting… I just felt the baby shift downward," Harry said shakily. "I don't have a birth canal! I can't push him out! But the baby doesn't know that…" Harry groaned in pain as another contraction took him. "I feel like pushing…"

All Hermione did was rub Harry's stomach soothingly, trying to relax his muscles. She looked up when the bedroom door opened and Poppy came in along with Ron.

"How far apart are his contractions, Ms. Granger?" Pomfrey asked as she reached into her pocket and took out a shrunken medical bag. She set it on the bed and it enlarged to its regular size.

"Five minutes… but I think they're closer together now," Hermione answered; Harry was moaning in pain and she felt his stomach tighten beneath her hand. "He's having another contraction now. The last one was just two minutes ago."

"Well! Mr. Malfoy is certainly impatient!" Poppy smiled as she snapped on some gloves. She turned around and looked at Ron. "Mr. Weasley, can you take out the towels and soft blanket I have in the bag?"

Ron nodded dumbly and walked up to Harry's bed. He reached into the bag and fished out some white towels along with a blue baby blanket. He held them up and Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"Just hold on to the towels until I ask for them," Pomfrey instructed; she looked up at Harry, who was looking at her with pain-filled eyes. "Harry, I want you to lie back now and straighten your legs. You are not going to push the babe out so there's no need for you to bend them."

Harry moved until his back was pressed against the pillows behind him. He hissed in pain when a huge contraction rippled across his belly.

"I-I… my shirt's still on, Madam Pomfrey," Harry groaned.

Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand and pointed it at Harry's torso; his stretched out t-shirt disappeared, leaving Harry naked waist up.

"Harry… do you want to watch or no?" Poppy asked. "If you don't want to I can put a screen right above your stomach so you can't see when I make the incision."

Harry licked his dry lips and shook his head. "No, I want to… Don't block me. Please."

"Very well… Ms. Granger?"

"I'll… I'll stay," Hermione said softly. "Ronald, you should stay as well. You can hand Madam Pomfrey towels and whatnot."

"Sure," Ron squeaked; his eyes were trained on Harry's bulging stomach.

"I don't think we should wait any longer," Madam Pomfrey said; she reached into her bag and took out a vial. "Harry, you have to drink this. It'll make your lower body numb so that you can't feel the pain when I make the cut."

She held out the vial and Hermione took it from her. Harry took it and drank it in one swallow. The effect was instantaneous. The pains from his contractions were gone; his back pains were also gone.

"It… worked. I can't feel pains anymore," Harry said. "Madam… Are you going to start…?"

"Yes, I am. Mr. Weasley, be ready when I ask for those towels."

Ron shuddered and held some towels in his hands. "Can I look away? Blood makes me queasy…"

Poppy flapped her hand at the boy and walked to the side of Harry's bed. The green-eyed teen had his eyes closed; his head was turned to the side. Hermione was whispering soothing words to Harry; her hand was still rubbing circles on the boy's tight belly.

"Ms. Granger, hold Harry's hand… and Harry, open your eyes. It's time for the baby to come out."

Harry slowly opened his eyes; he took in a shaky breath and nodded. Time went by painfully slow; Harry watched as the nurse used her wand and dragged the tip across his bulging abdomen. A wide gash appeared as her wand moved from the left to the right side of his stomach. Hermione had looked away when blood started seeping out. Harry continued to stare, transfixed, as Pomfrey muttered a spell to stop the bleeding and made the cut wider still. There was no pain, but it was weird to see a gaping incision across his belly.

When the cut was finally wide enough, Madam Pomfrey dropped her wand onto the bed and reached her gloved hands into Harry's stomach. The brunet grimaced when her hands disappeared inside; he heard Ron whimper somewhere behind the nurse and felt Hermione gripping his hand in a vice grip.

"You know, I am _extremely_ glad I can't feel this," Harry muttered; Poppy chuckled. She let out a small gasp. "What? What??" Harry panicked. Was something wrong?

"It's alright, Harry. I got the babe. Now, I'm going to pull him out. He'll be a bit bloody," Poppy whispered; she slowly pulled her hands back.

Harry held his head up and craned his neck. First he saw blood-matted hair. A few seconds later, a scrunched up, red, bloodied face came to view. Harry smiled and wanted to reach out to touch, but he knew the nurse had to clean the baby first. Next, the body came and then the legs followed. Finally, the whole baby was out. Poppy smiled and cradled the baby in one arm; she picked up her wand and said a spell to clear Draco's passageways.

The baby's cry was the sweetest sound Harry had ever heard.

"Oh… He's adorable, Harry," Hermione gushed. She was now smiling at the wiggling and crying baby in Pomfrey's arms. "A bit bloody, but he's still cute. He's so small…"

"Yes, he is…" Poppy said; she waved her wand and cut the umbilical cord. "Mr. Weasley, put the towels on the bed."

Ron did so and Poppy laid the baby gently onto the soft towels. Draco was still crying loudly. The nurse cooed and carefully cleaned the baby; she cleared the mucus from his nostrils and wiped the blood away. She did some tests and was satisfied to find Draco in good health. She wrapped the towel around the squirming baby.

"It's only temporary little one," Poppy cooed. "I'll have to stitch your mummy up first."

"Mummy!?" Harry squawked. "I-Well… I guess I _am_ his mother in a way…" Harry pouted but his eyes were still on the wiggling baby next to his legs. He could clearly see the tuft of blond hair on Draco's head now.

Pomfrey hummed as she stitched up Harry's incision; it closed up nicely and left no evidence that she had cut Harry's stomach open. The nurse then spelled a shirt on Harry.

"The potion's numbing effect will wear off soon," Pomfrey told the teen. "You might feel a strange emptiness later since the baby's no longer inside." She picked up the baby and cradled him in her arms. "Mr. Weasley, fetch me the blue blanket please."

"Uh huh…" Ron answered; he blinked rapidly. There he was: Malfoy, a baby. Ron took another closer look at the baby. '_Well… he _is_ sort of cute…'_ Ron smirked and gave the nurse the baby blanket.

During the time Ron was musing, Madam Pomfrey had unwrapped Draco. She took the nice, clean blanket and swaddled the small baby. Draco let out a small yawn, his tiny mouth opening slightly. Poppy tickled Draco's cheeks and walked over to Harry.

"Here he is…" Poppy whispered as he handed Harry the baby.

Harry held out his arms and when the small body was put into his hands, he instinctively held the precious bundle close to his chest. Draco mewled softly and turned his little head towards Harry's chest. The green-eyed teen traced his finger down Draco's chubby cheek; he smiled when the baby opened his mouth when the tip of Harry's finger touched his lips.

"Hey there, little guy," Harry whispered; he smiled lovingly down at the baby as Draco sucked on his pinky. "Well… I guess I'm your mummy…"

Hermione had quietly stood up from the bed when Madam Pomfrey handed Harry the baby. She was now standing next to Ron, both watching their friend interacting with the newborn Draco. There was so much love pouring out from Harry that one might think he really was Draco's mother.

Harry wasn't aware that Hermione was gone from his side, nor was he aware that Madam Pomfrey was sniffling. All his attention was on Draco, who had stopped sucking on his pinky and was now sleeping soundly in Harry's arms. Potter bent his head down and kissed Draco softly on his forehead; he smoothed the soft blond hair back and smiled.

His baby was finally here.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: The birth and Draco is here! :D Mother and son moment near the end of the chapter. Haha, Harry accepted that he was Draco's "mummy" :P

Thanks for reading! :D


	5. Chapter 5: Sweet Baby

A/N: Okay I have all the weirdo pregnancy thing over with. No more pregnant Harry with Draco. That's done. I'm finally going to concentrate on Harry with a baby Draco :D this chapter will be Harry's first day with the newborn. Aw, he's so cute! :3

**Harry and Draco falling in love wouldn't be incest. They're not even related in any way. The spell just used Harry's body to carry Draco. He still has Malfoy blood flowing in his veins. Not a trace of Potter blood I assure you. Besides, they're not going to fall in love right away; I was thinking that they'll have a friendship and then something blossoms… This story might be longer than my other De-Aging fic. **

Thank you for all the reviews! :)

**I'm keeping the dates so it wouldn't be all confusing when I skip around. It also helps you to keep track lol.**

**Chapter 5: Sweet Baby**

**.: Sunday, November 2, 1997 – 12:13 a.m :.**

Madam Pomfrey had left about half an hour ago; she gave Harry, Hermione, _and _Ron all the parenting instructions before leaving. That included: how to feed the baby, how to hold Draco properly, how to burp him, change his nappies, change his clothes, give the baby baths, and other things. Hermione listened to every word that came out of the nurse's mouth; Harry was a bit shocked that he had to do all those things with the newborn baby. Ron shrugged; he knew how to do those things already since he had been old enough to watch his mum take care of Ginny.

When the medi-witch finally left, not before putting a romper suit on the baby, Harry sighed and his attention was once again on the baby sleeping in his arms. Hermione sat down on the edge of Harry's bed and smiled at the brunet. She reached out and gingerly touched Draco's cheeks.

"I guess the baby's really tired," Hermione whispered. "All that kicking and moving around during the labor must've been trying." She looked at Harry, only to find the green eyes drooping with sleepiness. "Harry, it's been a long night, you're falling asleep. Why don't Ron and I move the baby's crib into your room?"

"Yeah, mate. It's easier that way. If the baby cries, you don't have to stumble your way to the nursery," Ron said, agreeing with Hermione.

Harry blinked the sleepiness away and looked up at his friends. "But it's so much trouble… You guys were here the whole time and it's really late…"

"That's nonsense, Harry, and you know it," Hermione chided. "I've stayed up longer than this when we have exams for our classes." When Harry was about to retort, Hermione held up her hand, stopping the teen from saying anything. "I'm sure you want to be by the baby's side. Draco will need lots of attention; all newborns do."

Harry chewed his bottom lip and glanced down at the baby. Draco had shifted around a bit and now had his small fist sticking out of the blanket. Harry gently took the tiny hand and tucked it back inside; he didn't want Draco to get cold. He bounced the baby lightly when Draco mewled. Harry began making soft cooing noises and Draco let out a yawn before snuggling down and fell back asleep.

"Just look at you. You're already being all motherly," Ron joked; Harry scoffed but he was smiling. "Let me and Hermione help you, yeah? Moving the crib isn't that hard. We'll be quiet so that Malfoy wouldn't wake up."

"Alright… Thanks," Harry said. "If I wasn't so tired, I would've moved the crib myself and let you guys sleep."

"And then what? Leave Draco on the bed by himself?" Hermione asked. "You did all the hard work, Harry. You carried Draco for the past two months, went through the pains of labor and now you're saying _we're_ tired?" Hermione shook her head in amusement when Harry looked down sheepishly. "We'll have the bed ready; just stay here." She marched off with Ron following behind.

Harry chuckled. With great care, Harry moved back until he was leaning against the propped up pillows. He watched as Draco, with pure natural instincts, turned his head towards Harry's chest, lips touching Harry's soft cotton shirt. Draco's small mouth opened wide, searching for that one place that would've given him milk if Harry was a female. Right away, Harry understood that the baby was hungry; Draco was now suckling on his shirt.

"Hey… Are you hungry? I'm sorry I don't have milk for you," Harry whispered as he tried to take the shirt out of Draco's mouth. Right away, Draco let out a cry, his little body trembling with each sob. Harry panicked and started bouncing the small bundle in his arms. "Shh… Oh I'm sorry, baby. My shirt's not going to give you any…" Harry patted the baby's bottom to comfort. Sobs ebbed away and Draco let out small whimpers.

The teen's breath hitched when, for the first time since he was born, Draco slowly opened his eyes, tears making them bright. Harry immediately fell in love. The slightly puffy eyes blinked up at him, seeing Harry for the first time. Draco's fists came out from beneath the blanket and he waved them at Harry. Potter was surprised that Draco wasn't crying his lungs out anymore; he offered his finger and the baby grasped it tightly. The newborn made a gurgling sound and actually tried to smile at his supposedly 'mother'. Harry's heart melted when Draco smiled; Ron was right, he _was_ becoming motherly.

"You got a strong grip, little man," Harry praised. He laughed softly when Draco brought Harry's finger into his mouth and chewed. "Well, my finger won't give you milk either… You'll have to wait awhile until Mione and Ron comes back."

Hermione came back into the room later, with Ron carrying a smaller version of the baby's crib. When she saw Draco chewing on Harry's forefinger, she rushed over and let out a small squeal. Harry and Ron looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Aw… He's so cute! Look at him!" Hermione said sweetly; she gasped when Draco's blue eyes looked at her. "Oh! His eyes are opened! Such pretty blue eyes…"

"Mione… if it's not too much trouble… Can you fix a bottle for him?" Harry asked shyly. "He was suckling on my shirt near my… er… you know." Harry's eyes darted downward. "I don't have milk for him and now he's chewing on my finger. I'm quite sure he's hungry."

"Of course it's not too much trouble." Hermione straightened her back and tickled Draco's drool-covered chin; the baby scrunched up his face but didn't cry or protest. He then went back to chewing Harry's finger. "I think the baby formula and bottles are in the kitchen. I'll be right back."

"Thanks," Harry murmured; Hermione patted his shoulder and walked out.

The brunet brought Draco higher and he rubbed his nose on the baby's face. Draco let out a small gurgle and released Harry's finger. The Gryffindor chuckled when Draco began smacking his face in jerky movements with his palm. Ron snorted and stood there, the miniature crib still in his hands.

"You better stop before Malfoy sucks on your nose," Ron said; he set the crib down next to Harry's bed and tapped his wand on it. It grew back to its original size.

Harry pulled his face away and took the baby's waving hand between his thumb and index finger. He brought it to his lips and kissed it. Draco blinked at Harry and started blowing spit bubbles.

"You're wide awake now aren't you? Yes, you are," Harry cooed. Malfoy tried a smile again; his fingers curled around Harry's thumb. "You don't cry much, do you? You seem like a happy baby." Harry said to the newborn. He bent down and kissed Draco's brows.

Draco blew more spit bubbles at his 'mum'.

HPDMHPDM

The room was now quiet, save for the soft suckling sounds coming from the baby. Ron and Hermione had left their friend; Harry needed as much rest as he could claim. Harry thanked them profusely for their help with the baby; they waved off the thanks. Hermione kissed Harry and Draco before leaving while Ron patted Harry's back and gave the baby an awkward smile.

Not that Draco knew it was awkward.

Harry was making soft tuts and coos; Draco stared at him owlishly as he drank the baby formula from his bottle. Wide blue eyes studied the face above him. Harry had thought if Draco could talk he would be blabbing about why _he_ was his caretaker out of all people. But alas, Draco couldn't talk, so there were no complaints. Both continued to stare at each other: Draco, sucking heartily on the rubber nipple, silently dubbing Harry as his mother and Harry, watching the milk being consumed as Draco gulped it down. The brunet was no longer half lying on his bed; he felt well enough to sit up with his legs crossed. The potion's numbing effect had long gone and just like Madam Pomfrey said, Harry felt this weird emptiness in the pit of his stomach. It was as if he hadn't eaten for days, as weird as that sounded. He also noticed that his once toned abdomen was now sort of flabby…

Damn the cravings.

When the baby formula was half gone, Harry carefully stood up and started walking around his room. His light steps jostled the baby, making those blue eyes droop. Before long, Draco's mouth slacked, making the rubber nipple slip out. Harry walked back to his bedside table and set the bottle down. He remembered Madam Pomfrey telling him that babies needed to be burped after being fed. And so, Harry adjusted Draco until the babe had his head on his shoulder and that Harry was able to smooth his hand up and down Draco's back.

He walked to his bed and took one of the clean white towels that were left. Harry moved Draco's head away before throwing the towel over his left shoulder. He gently pressed the small head down before patting the baby's back. With a gurgle and a burp, Draco sick-up onto the towel. Harry wrinkled his nose but nonetheless, cradled the baby again. Draco was half asleep; he sighed softly when Harry started humming.

"I'll be here when you wake up, sweet baby," Harry murmured; he walked over to the crib and set the sleeping babe in. "I'll be here."

Harry gently tucked the little hands under the soft blanket. He grabbed a small teddy bear that was in the crib and planted it onto a corner of the blanket so that Draco wouldn't be able to throw it off. With one last loving look at the sleeping Draco, Harry walked out of his room to take care of the dirty towel and took a quick shower.

* * *

**.: Sunday, November 2, 1997 – 8:27 a.m. :.**

Harry sighed in his sleep and rolled onto his stomach; he smiled sleepily and snuggled deeper into his soft pillow. It had been over a month since he last slept on his belly. Harry always thought he slept best in that position, and now he could. He was about to drift off once more when he heard hiccupping cries from his left.

"Turn off the alarm…" Harry mumbled and pressed his face into the pillow. "I'm not waking… so stop cry—" Harry's head jerked up and he rolled out of bed. He yelped when he almost tripped on his own feet while stumbling over to the crib. He was more awake now; the baby's cries were making his heart clench.

"Oh I'm sorry, baby… Hush now… I'm here… Mummy's here…" Harry babbled as he bent down to caress the fussing baby's face.

Harry didn't even notice he had called himself 'mummy'. His maternal instincts were really kicking in.

Draco had kicked and howled, causing the blanket to roll to the side in a lump. Harry picked up the baby and cautiously cradled Draco in his arms, making kissing sounds at the baby. The infant looked up at Harry through his tears. Once Harry's face came into focus, Draco stopped his racking cries and instead, let out hiccups; he recognized his 'mummy'. Harry shushed the baby and used his thumbs to smear the tears away from Draco's flushed chubby cheeks. He smiled when Draco stopped crying and was puckering his small mouth at Harry.

"Do you want a morning kiss from me? Do you?" Harry asked, smiling. His heart swelled when the baby gave him a toothless half-smile. "Well, I have plenty of kisses for my baby…"

Harry planted a wet kiss on Draco's nose, making a 'mwah' sound. Draco gurgled and made a grab at Harry's nose, but Harry was quicker and he kissed the baby's swatting palm.

"Let's go see if Mione and Ron are awake," Harry whispered to the child; he tickled Draco's small feet, making the infant squirm. Draco then blinked at Harry and snuggled into his arms.

Once Harry was in the corridor, he heard the toilet being flushed from the bathroom. Hermione came out, her hair still fizzy; she let out a loud yawn and rotated her head, getting rid of the kinks in her neck. She was already dressed in casual clothes, a pair of jeans and a dark red hoodie. Her brown eyes landed on Harry and the baby. She smiled and came over as Harry walked up to her.

"Good morning, Harry," Hermione smiled; she brushed her finger down Draco's cheeks, making the infant coo. "Was everything okay this morning? I think I heard him cry earlier."

"He was just trying to get my attention," Harry said. "I was half awake when he woke up."

Hermione giggled and together they walked out to the living room. "I heard you murmuring sweet things to Draco. You bedroom door wasn't closed."

"I was trying to calm him down." They sat down on the sofa; Hermione tucked her legs under her and she leaned over to play with Draco's small tuft of hair.

"I also heard you calling yourself 'mummy'," Hermione added snidely; Harry flushed crimson.

"Well-I… I completely accept the fact that I'm to be his mum," Harry said indignantly. "That _is_ what I am, isn't it? I am to be Draco's so called mother until he's back to normal. I promised that I'll be then I _will_ be his mother."

"Well, you're a wonderful mother then," Hermione smiled, "he hasn't shed one single tear since we came out. Just look at him, he's looking around at his surroundings." Hermione cooed and tickled Draco's rounded tummy. "I say he feels completely safe in your arms."

Harry looked down at his baby and found it was true. Draco was darting his eyes, twisting his head to the side and taking in the things around him. He had been staring at Hermione for awhile and then started to look at the ceiling above. Potter craned his neck down and kissed Draco right on his cute button nose. Hermione went 'aww' when Draco automatically closed his eyes and burbled when Harry's hair touched his face. When Harry pulled back, Draco started to fuss; he turned towards Harry's chest again and latched onto his shirt.

Hermione arched her eyebrows and Harry smiled sheepishly. "He did that last night. I think it'll be awhile before Draco realizes I'm not lactating."

The girl chuckled. "I understand; do you want me to go make his bottle? I don't think little Draco here would feel comfortable with me holding him."

Harry smiled appreciatively at her. "That would be great. Thanks, Mione."

"I'll be right back."

Harry sat, waiting patiently for Hermione to come back with a warm baby bottle. This time, he had let Draco suck on his shirt. He felt bad that he wasn't giving what Draco sought, but it really wasn't his fault for not making milk… in his chest area. The newborn baby was sucking greedily, trying so hard to get what he wanted. He finally gave up and let out a long, loud cry. Harry immediately went into mother mode and rocked Draco, shushing and cooing for the baby. When that didn't work, Harry frowned and put his finger into Draco's tiny hand. The child wrapped his fingers around it and his flow of tears slowed; Draco's mouth trembled but he was no longer sobbing. Harry sighed when the crying subsided. This time, Draco didn't put his finger into his mouth; he just held it tight and was ogling at Harry fixedly.

Harry nuzzled Draco's belly and made the baby coo. "I love you, little one…" Harry said against the baby's tummy. Harry pulled back and kissed Draco on his forehead.

Hermione was standing by the kitchen's entranceway, holding a bottle of milk in one hand. She watched as Harry started playing with Draco's small feet and tickling his toes. She heard Harry's soft murmurs. Saying 'I love you' to the baby… Hermione knew Harry had meant that in more ways than one.

* * *

**.: Same day – 7:40 p.m. :. **

"Harry, do you need any help?" Hermione asked, poking her head through the gap of the bathroom door.

Harry was holding Draco safely in his left arm while fixing a baby basin with the other hand. He was testing the water when Hermione came in. He looked up and smiled delightedly at the girl.

"Yeah, can you hold him for just a sec? I have to bring the basin into the bathtub… I don't want to make the counter all wet."

Hermione held out her arms and Harry gently set the baby into her hold. Hermione held and rocked Draco; he was looking at her with round eyes. Harry turned to the counter and picked up the basin; he set it down into the bathtub and swirled his hand in the water.

"It's lukewarm… it should be fine," Harry said; he walked over to Hermione and started unbuttoning Draco's romper suit. He smiled down at the baby. "Hey, little guy… Let's give you a bath, yeah? You must be uncomfortable with that dirty nappy."

Hermione chuckled and helped Harry take off the romper suit. "It's a good thing dirty nappies disappear once you set them down. It would be awfully smelly if they didn't."

"Yes, that would be awful," Harry said, wrinkling his nose. He peeled off the diaper when Hermione held up Draco's chubby legs. "I'm going to get the baby soap, flannel, and a cup to pour water over his body." Harry balled up the nappy and set it on the counter; it disappeared instantly.

"I can hold Draco for you while you bathe him," Hermione offered. "Just to make sure the water wouldn't get into his eyes and nose." She was now holding Draco in a way that his little bum wasn't touching her arm.

"Alright," Harry smiled and went to get the needed things. "Good thing the tub is big enough."

Hermione stepped into the tub and sat down behind the water basin; she carefully put the baby into the warm water. Draco starting wailing once the water touched his skin; it _was_ his first time feeling water since he was born. Harry quickly came over and went inside the tub; he set all his things down and leaned over to kiss Draco.

"You're alright… Mummy's going to give you a bath now," Harry whispered; Draco whimpered and splashed around in the water while Hermione supported his small body in her hands.

"You know, Harry, I think Draco does think of you as his mother. Everytime you're nearby, he calms right down. Look at him, he's even enjoying the water now."

It was true. The baby was now kicking his legs under the water, gurgling and smiling a bit. Harry chuckled and tickled the baby's tummy.

"I think he dubbed me as his mum when he first opened his eyes. He'll probably end up calling me 'Mama' once he starts talking," Harry said; he picked up the bottle of baby body wash and squeezed a couple of drops into the warm water. He took the flannel and sloshed it around, making bubbles.

"That wouldn't be surprising seeing how you're always calling yourself 'mummy'," Hermione laughed. "Newborns pick up words really quickly. They're like sponges."

"Might as well call myself mum. He's a baby right now and needs a mother's love," Harry said, shrugging.

Draco had stopped splashing around once the bubbles appeared; he was now looking down and making soft cooing sounds. Harry dribbled some bath water onto the infant's body and cleaned gently. Hermione was making Draco sit by supporting the baby's back; he was still too young to sit on his own.

Harry was using the small plastic cup to rinse Draco when Ron came in. He smiled and knelt down beside the bathtub.

"Giving the little guy a bath huh?" Ron asked; he reached out and splashed some water on the baby's torso. "He's not complaining is he?"

"No, he's quite content," Hermione said, smiling. "Draco's really an easy baby to take care of. I was worried he would be spending most of the day crying."

When Harry was done rinsing Draco, the baby was splashing around again. Harry cooed and picked up the wet baby; Ron stepped away as Harry got out from the tub. The brunet gently placed Draco onto a soft bath towel on the counter and began patting Draco dry. Hermione took care of the basin and dried it with a swish of her wand. Ron helped Harry put a clean nappy on Draco; the green-eyed teen got flustered when he didn't know how to. Once Draco was dressed in a light blue romper suit, Harry took the baby and walked to his room.

"Time for bed, love," Harry whispered. "You had an exciting day today." He disappeared into his room while Ron and Hermione stood outside the bathroom door.

"Harry is really getting all mother-like, isn't he?" Ron asked.

"He called himself mum so I would say yes," Hermione said; she hooked her arm with Ron's and tugged the redheaded teen with her. "Let's get dinner ready."

"Is it my turn to fix it?" Ron asked, frowning.

"Yes, Ronald, it's your turn. I did it last night."

"Why can't we ask the house elves to bring us something?"

"We can't always rely on elves. Besides, I know you know how to cook, Ron."

"Figures."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: And that's day one :)

Thanks for reading! :D


	6. Chapter 6: Visiting

A/N: On to the parenting! I'm sure Harry will make a great mother ;D He already is!

**Since Draco is going to age ONE year every TWO weeks, pretend he ages one MONTH every day. For example, Draco was "born" on November 1. He'll be a three month old baby on November 5. Draco will be one year old on November 14, so on and so forth. You get my drift :P**

Thank you for all the reviews! :)

**From now on I will have the day of the week, the date, time, and Draco's age. For example: **.: Tuesday, November 5, 1997 – 4:54 p.m. Three months old :.

**Chapter 6: Visiting**

**.: Friday, November 7, 1997 – 8:26 a.m. Five months old :.**

Harry was feeding a five-month-old Draco some mashed up peas when Ron ran out from his room, his school robe hanging on one shoulder and his book bag on the other. The baby squealed and banged his fists on the highchair when Ron skidded to a stop to grab a piece of toast from Harry's plate on the table. The redhead bit on the corner of the toast and ruffled Draco's soft tuft of blond hair.

"Hermione left ten minutes ago," Harry said; he scooped some more peas and held the spoon in front of Draco's mouth; the baby was busy looking at Ron. "She said she'll be in the Great Hall." Harry waited until Draco's attention was on him. When the baby looked at him, Harry pressed the tip of the spoon on the baby's lips.

Draco smiled at his mummy and opened his little mouth wide. Harry cooed at the baby and fed the spoonful of peas; Draco made a face but nonetheless chewed on the mush in his mouth. Harry had another spoonful ready but he waited until Draco was done swallowing. He smiled, with motherly pride, that his baby was growing bigger everyday. In truth, Draco _was_ growing every day. He was growing one month a day to be exact.

On Monday morning, the second day Draco became part of Harry's life in a big way, Harry noticed the baby was no longer… small. Well, he was small but not _as_ small. When Draco woke up that morning, Harry realized that the baby was able to make more sounds and he actually gave Harry a real smile. Harry was about to go into panic mode when a note appeared in a puff of smoke; the green-eyed teen caught it and read its contents.

Basically, it told Harry not to panic. It was normal for Draco to grow a bit bigger each day since he was aging a month each day. Harry sighed in relief and thanked Dumbledore in his mind for sending the note. If the note never came, Harry was sure he would've taken Draco to Madam Pomfrey to see if he fed something to Draco that made him grow abnormally.

"Do those mashed up peas even taste good?" Ron asked, eyeing the bowl of mush in disgust. "It's all green and gooey…"

"Draco can't eat solid foods yet," Harry said; he brought the baby spoon to Draco's lips and the baby happily ate the spoonful. "You don't see my baby complaining." Harry set the bowl down onto the table and took Draco out from the highchair; he plopped the baby down on his lap and Draco gurgled and clapped his small hands.

"He's too young to say anything," Ron smirked; he patted Draco's head. "I've got to go, mate. I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Harry looked up and smiled; he took one of Draco's hands and held it, making waving motions. "Say goodbye to Ron, love."

"Ba!" Draco giggled and waved his whole arm at Ron. He then turned away and pressed his face into Harry's chest. "Mur…"

"Kiddo's still shy around me and Hermione," Ron said, smiling at the baby who was now playing with Harry's sweater. "Well, have fun today, Harry. See ya." Ron shrugged off his robes and held it, and then went out, leaving Harry with baby Draco.

Harry chuckled and bounced the baby on his lap. "Draco, are you finished? Show mummy if you're finished."

Draco looked up, his silver eyes round. He squealed and smacked Harry's chest with his hands. Since he was giggling, Harry saw that the baby's mouth was empty. Harry picked up the spoon and put it near Draco's lips.

"Open wide, Draco, and let the broom in," Harry said; Draco blinked at his mum and opened his mouth obediently. Harry fed the peas and kissed Draco on his head. "Good baby. See? You're all done!" Harry showed Draco the empty bowl; Draco giggled and clapped.

Harry stood up from his chair and walked over to the living room. He sat down and held the baby so that Draco could stand on his lap. The small child was looking down at his own feet, stepping back and forth on Harry's thighs. The green-eyed teen chuckled; it was as if Draco was doing a small dance on his lap.

"Draco," Harry said; the blond baby looked up and smiled at him, cooing. "What happened to my kiss today, hm? You never gave me a kiss."

It had become a ritual. Every morning when Harry picked Draco up from his crib, the baby would pucker his lips and Harry would bend down to plant wet kisses all over Draco's face. Draco would squeal and gurgle happily at his mummy's kisses.

Draco moved his right foot forward and then his left. Harry was holding him securely; he would never forgive himself if Draco slipped and fell off. When the baby was close enough, Harry rubbed his nose with Draco's. The infant burbled then moved his head to kiss Harry on the cheek.

"Muh…" Draco babbled; a dribble of drool came tumbling down from his mouth. "Mmuuh!"

"That's right, love. Can you say 'Mama'?" Harry asked; he puffed up in pride when Draco let out a loud 'Muh!' again.

Since Draco turned four months, which was yesterday, he had been repeating words that were said around the quarters. When Harry called himself 'mummy', Draco would blab out 'Muu'. Then, like earlier before Ron left, Draco went 'Ba' for 'goodbye'. Harry was really proud of his baby, even though the words were just silly one syllable sounds. Just last night, Draco had managed to call Hermione, 'Nee'. Harry thought that name was going to stick with the girl. Harry's thoughts were broken when he heard 'Muh' being said like a mantra, not to mention that Draco was now hitting Harry's face softly.

"I'm sorry, Draco. Mummy was thinking about what a smart baby you are," Harry gushed.

As if he understood, Draco gave Harry a toothless smile and kissed the brunet's nose. From that kiss left a big splotch of saliva on Harry's nose. Potter laughed and used the baby's bib to wipe the tip of his nose. Another thing Harry noticed was that Draco had been drooling more. Hermione told him that it was because Draco would start teething soon and teething meant pain on the baby's gums. Harry didn't like it when Hermione said Draco would be in pain but every baby had to go through teething so there was no avoiding it. He felt better when he found some toys last night that were made for chewing; they could lessen the pain when the baby teeth came out.

Draco had been watching his mum; he was stepping here and there on Harry's thighs. When Harry smiled at him, Draco burbled and stumbled closer to Harry's body. The green-eyed teen wrapped his arms around the small body and hugged. He winced, however, when a glob of drool landed on his shoulder.

"Okay, Draco. I think we need to work on your drooling," Harry said mock-sternly; he tapped Draco's button nose and made the baby giggle.

"Bah!"

"Yes, bah indeed."

* * *

**.: In the Great Hall - 8:45 a.m. :. **

"At least you made it," Hermione said once Ron sat down next to her at the Gryffindor table. "You have exactly fifteen minutes to eat something." She watched as Ron took his plate and started piling sausages, ham, eggs, bacon, and toasts. "How were Harry and Draco this morning? Harry was dressing the baby before I left."

"He was feeding Mal—" Ron stopped in mid-chew when Hermione glared at him. He sighed and continued biting down into his sausage. "—Draco. Harry was feeding Draco some mashed peas. The little tyke was shy around me."

Hermione smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Draco will get use to us. Hey, Ron…"

"Yeah?" He swallowed and stabbed his fork into his bacon.

"I was thinking of having lunch with Harry… and bringing Pansy and Blaise along," Hermione said. "They haven't seen Draco since he was born. The last time they were there was when Harry was only three months pregnant."

"You can do the asking. I'm not going to ask them to come over," Ron mumbled through his food. "Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problems… It's just I don't _talk_ with them, you know?"

"Ron, you are such a prat," Hermione said exasperatedly; Ron shrugged and stuffed his mouth with eggs. "Fine. I'll ask Pansy. I'm sure she'll ask Blaise on her own."

Hermione glanced at her watch and stood up. "We should go now. Only five minutes left." She hefted her school bag onto her shoulder and grabbed Ron's arm. "Let's go."

The redheaded teen finished his eggs and stood up, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

"I'm still hungry."

"It's your fault for oversleeping," Hermione said. "You can have a nice, big lunch later."

"I'll hold you to that."

HPDMHPDM

**.: In Charms – 9:07 a.m. :.**

"Granger, you've been staring at me since you came into the class," Pansy drawled as she sat down next to her partner. "You have something to say?"

Hermione took out her text book and put it on the table. "I wanted to ask you guys to visit Draco…"

Pansy stopped what she was doing and turned to stare at Hermione. "Draco? He's… Potter gave birth? When?!"

"Last late Saturday," Hermione smiled, "I'm sorry for not telling you… But we haven't been working in partners in any of our classes until today." Hermione looked apologetic; Pansy flapped her hand at the other girl. "Draco's healthy and such a cute baby."

Pansy smiled lightly. "I'm glad… So… You want us to visit Draco? Potter doesn't mind?"

"I'm sure he doesn't. He's busy being Draco's mum. That's his top priority."

"Oh… Alright. When do you want me and Blaise to come over?" Pansy asked.

"After Potions. That's our last class for today and then we'll have lunch," Hermione told Pansy. "I should warn you… Harry might act a bit motherly, but don't say anything about it. It's completely… natural."

"Motherly? Potter?" Pansy snorted. "Somehow, I'm not too surprised. He didn't mind much when he got pregnant so I don't think he would care if he's acting like Draco's mother."

"He _did_ take it pretty well," Hermione mused. "And he's doing such a great job with Draco."

Pansy smirked. "I've got to see this."

* * *

**.: Harry's private rooms – 1:25 p.m. :. **

Harry was playing with Draco in the nursery when he heard the front portrait opening and voices. Draco was starting to crawl now; Harry had placed him on a mat so that if Draco's arm gave, he would not hurt himself. It seemed Draco also heard the sounds; he crawled away from Harry and was making his way towards the door. Harry rolled his eyes and scooped up the escaping baby; Draco squealed and then nuzzled into Harry's shoulder.

Draco liked it best when his mummy held him.

"Let's go see who it is," Harry said to the snuggling babe. "It's probably Mione and Ron." He walked out from the nursery; Harry still couldn't see his visitors from the hallway.

"Nee!" Draco babbled; he curled his fingers around Harry's hair and tugged.

"Did someone say my name?" Hermione called from the living room; Harry laughed and gasped when Pansy and Blaise came to view.

"Hey guys. Pansy… Blaise," Harry smiled at the Slytherins; he turned his head and kissed Draco's temple. "Draco, we've got company."

Draco, who was busy playing with Harry's hair, turned when he heard his mum saying his name. Harry shifted the small body in his arms so that Draco could see Pansy and Blaise better. Parkinson came over to Harry and she bent down to be face to face with the baby. Draco stared at the girl with fascination; he reached out and tugged on Pansy's dark tresses.

"Hey, Draco…" Pansy touched Draco's cheeks; the baby graced her with a smile. "Oh, you're adorable… I haven't seen you smile like that for so long…"

The other occupants of the room looked at each other; Blaise smiled sadly at Harry's direction. Hermione cleared her throat and everybody looked at her.

"I think we should have lunch, don't you all agree?"

Pansy straightened herself and nodded. "That's sounds fine." She walked away and sat down on the couch; Blaise sat down next to her.

All six of them had lunch; Draco had his usual baby food. Ron and Hermione prepared the lunches and the Slytherins actually told them that it was really good. Harry was glad that Draco wasn't making a fuss with strangers around. Pansy and Blaise were considered strangers since this was the first time Draco saw them as a baby. After they were done, all the teens sat in the living room; Draco was lying contently in Harry's arms.

"I… er… have a question, Pansy," Harry suddenly said; he rocked the baby and Draco placed his thumb back into his mouth, eyes slowly closing.

"What is it?"

Harry tugged at Draco's baby pants and bit his bottom lip. "You… You said you haven't seen Draco smile for so long… I just-I'm curious."

Pansy sighed and set her cup of tea down onto the coffee table. She sat back in the couch and crossed her legs.

"Draco, Blaise, and I were childhood friends. We basically met when we were babies," Pansy said. "Draco was the youngest out of us three, but he was also the one with the stricter parents." She let out a short laugh and looked up. "Ever since we knew how to walk, our parents would bring us to Malfoy manor. Parents would do their own thing, while we play outside."

"Draco was a happy child; he was always laughing. One time, Pansy fell and scraped her knee. She cried and cried but Draco was there and told her it would be alright. He gave her hugs and kept on comforting her. We were only four." Blaise took Pansy's hand and held it. "Things started to change as Draco grew older. His father began telling him things. He told Draco that he was a Malfoy and Malfoys are people that do not show their emotions. Malfoys were cold, or so his father said."

"Draco didn't want to be like his father, but then Mr. Malfoy would hit him. We didn't know until one day Blaise saw a long red mark along the back of Draco's calf." Pansy let out a shaky breath. "We think of Draco as our little brother and so we were worried about him. Draco always said he was fine and that he hurt himself because he fell or something. But Blaise and I knew that wasn't the case."

"By the time we were ten… Draco stopped smiling. We could see he was becoming more and more like Mr. Malfoy. We still played but he would no longer laugh as much. Draco was becoming more withdrawn. He sneers when we ask about him, smirks were in place of smiles." Blaise frowned and then his eyes landed on the baby Draco in Harry's arms. "When we started Hogwarts, he hardly made friends. Pansy and I stuck with him and we vowed we would protect him."

"That's horrible… His father is a terrible man. Beating his own son…" Hermione shook her head sadly. "All his emotions are trapped behind his mask. A mask that was put by his father."

Harry was scowling and was shaking in rage; he held his baby closer to his heart. Draco sighed and nuzzled against Harry's chest.

"I'm glad the spell hit Draco," Harry growled. "I'll show him that he can have a happy childhood, without the influence of his father. There shouldn't be a mask in the first place!" Harry snapped his mouth shut when Draco whimpered; he rocked the infant back to sleep.

"Professor Snape told us that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy didn't want to take Draco," Pansy said sadly. "They didn't want to take care of a baby again…" She closed her eyes and placed her head on Blaise's shoulder. "He's their son…"

"They don't qualify to be his parents," Harry spat. "Draco's got me now and I'll take good care of him. You don't have to worry about that."

Pansy gave Harry a watery smile. "I-We should thank you, Pot—Harry. I just want you to know… all the things we did in the past was because we were protecting Draco… We don't want anybody hurting him. He had enough of that. The way he treated you guys... Well, you know why now."

"We understand," Ron spoke up for the first time; Harry turned and looked at Ron, who shrugged. "Hey, the way Draco's father treated him… that's unforgivable. He's a right bastard if you ask me."

Harry only nodded and he bent down to kiss Draco. The baby scrunched up his nose and smiled in his sleep. The brunet brushed his finger down the baby's soft cheeks; tears were stinging his eyes but he kept them back. The other four teens were looking at Harry; they knew the green-eyed teen was pretty angry now. Ron and Hermione knew Harry cared about Draco, as a baby and as a teen. Blaise and Pansy had inklings to how Harry felt towards the blond.

One single tear fell from Harry's eye and landed on Draco's forehead. Harry quickly brushed that away and planted a soft kiss on the baby's eyelid.

"I'm so sorry for not being there all those years ago…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: I made myself cry ;( Baby Draco is so cute!! :D

Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: For Loving Him

A/N: La la la… I don't have much to say really. Just enjoy the chapter and feel all warm and fuzzy. Harry and Draco are too cute! :D

**Thank you for all the reviews! :)**

-kidnaps Draco- ;)

**Chapter 7: For Loving Him**

**.: Monday, November 10, 1997 – 7:40 a.m. Eight months old :.**

Harry had woken up around twenty minutes ago. Ever since Draco was born, the brunet had become accustomed to waking up early. That was due to the fact that baby Draco would cry at dawn sometimes, thus waking Harry up. Today, however, was different. Draco did not cry at the crack of dawn; Harry was surprised he was up before his baby. Potter had stood by the crib and reached inside, gently stroking Draco's soft little cheeks; the baby had moved, but did not wake up.

The green-eyed teen had just stepped out from the bathroom when a loud wail was heard. Harry had thankfully closed his bedroom door; he didn't want to wake the other two occupants of the private quarters. He rushed over to his bedroom and padded inside. Harry could clearly see Draco kicking around in the crib; the small blanket was already flopped to the side. The Gryffindor was making shushing sounds as he made his away over to the fretting baby. Draco was crying loud, his face scrunched up in effort. When Harry was close enough, Draco opened his teary eyes and looked right at his mummy. Harry smiled and cooed as he carefully placed his hands around the infant's small body and lifted him up.

"Mah…"

Draco blinked and sniffed, his tears slowly stopped trickling down his flushed face. Harry held the baby to his chest and rocked him. When Draco was calm, he finally smiled at Harry and puckered his cherry lips.

This ritual never stopped, no matter how old Draco was.

"All better now, love? Yes, you're better," Harry whispered and bent down to kiss his baby. Draco burbled and waved his arms at his mum. "Well, let's get you cleaned up."

"Maa!" Draco squealed; Harry chuckled and held the baby in a way that had Draco's head resting on his shoulder.

He rubbed the small back through Draco's blue—with bunnies—romper suit. The baby sighed and stuck his thumb in his mouth. They went to the nursery where all the baby's clothes and cleaning products were kept. Harry went to the bureau and opened the drawer that held baby wipes, baby powder, diapers, and small towels. He took one of the white towels and closed the drawer with his hips.

"Look at mummy, Draco," Harry said, kissing the top of the blond head. Draco moved away from Harry's shoulder and looked up at his mummy.

"'Ook…?" Draco's eyes were wide with question. Harry laughed softly at his baby's confused look. He gently wiped Draco's face clean with the towel. Draco giggled and closed his eyes as the cloth brushed across his nose.

"You're saying more words now… I'm so proud of you," Harry gushed; he placed the dirtied towel on top of the bureau. It disappeared and Harry knew it was replaced with a clean one.

"Muhma ow," Draco repeated; Harry glowed with pride and kissed Draco's cheeks. He was sure his baby had just said 'Mama proud'… in a whole different way of course.

Not to be outdone with the kisses, Draco twisted his head and smacked a wet one on Harry. The baby then planted another one, this time with a 'mwah' and a squeal later. Harry then tickled the rounded tummy and Draco laughed gleefully. His whole body was trembling with laughter as Harry continued his assault on his baby. By the time the green-eyed teen was done, Draco was taking in huge breaths and his silver eyes were sparkling with tears of mirth.

"Mamuh… Mamuh! 'is ay!" Draco was smiling now, his face right in front of Harry's since the teen was now holding his baby in front of him.

"You want a kiss from mummy?" Harry asked; they were now in the dining room. Harry sat down in one of the chairs and stood Draco on his lap.

Draco tilted his head to the side and then he nodded once. "'Iss Ay-o."

Harry chuckled at the way Draco said his own name. He had been repeating the blond's name last night and so far, Draco could say 'Ay' or 'Ay-o'. It was pretty good for an eight-month-old child. Harry now had his hands around the baby's waist; Draco bounced a bit on Harry's lap and started flapping his arms at the sides.

"Mamuh 'is!" Draco said insistently; his little brows were furrowed.

Harry sighed loudly, with a smile on his face, and kissed Draco soundly on his lips. The child then clapped his small hands together happily.

"What would you like for breakfast today, love? Some… pancakes? Waffles? With syrup?" Harry asked; Draco giggled at each suggestion, showing his mummy his pearly white teeth.

Draco had gotten eight little teeth, all in the front where Harry could see them clearly. It had been painful for Draco. Two days ago, when Draco had just reached his sixth months mark, he started teething. The baby had bit and chewed on Harry's finger, making the teen cry out. When Harry's fingers didn't work, Draco went on to chew on Harry's shirt and sometimes when his mummy was holding him, Draco bit into Harry's shoulder. The Gryffindor got fed up with all the red patches on his skin, not to mention all the saliva, and gave Draco a teething ring. It was soft and squishy and Draco had a grand time biting into it; he didn't give his mum any more bites.

Since Draco had some of his teeth, Harry started giving soft foods for him. He made sure they were cut up into small little bites; Harry also made sure Draco would chew thoroughly. At first his baby didn't know what to do with the food in his mouth since he had been eating nothing but mush and milk. Harry patiently showed Draco how to chew, by doing the chewing motion himself. It was a good thing Draco liked watching his mummy, and so, he followed exactly what Harry was doing. After a few tries, Draco got the hang of it and was chewing on his own without Harry doing the same thing.

"Puh-an!" Draco wiggled in Harry's hold until the brunet got the idea of sitting the baby on his lap. Draco was facing his belly and Harry had to look down at the small child.

"Do you want pancakes with syrup?"

Draco pressed his cheek on Harry's soft belly and snuggled; the brunet snorted when Draco started nuzzling. With his belly and his sweater, Harry was a human pillow for the baby. Harry still hadn't found time to work off the excess fat around his stomach and so it was still flabby. He didn't really mind it though. Draco seemed to like snuggling and poking at his stomach whenever the baby was sitting on his lap.

Seeing that his baby was too busy nuzzling—and sometimes patting—his flab, Harry called out and in seconds, two plates of warm pancakes appeared on the table. Draco's plate was obviously smaller and the pancakes were cut up into really small bits. For drinks, Harry had a cup of coffee while Draco had a sippy cup filled with warm milk. Harry took the sippy cup, moved Draco around so that the small baby had his back touching his stomach. Harry was acting like a cushion for Draco right now.

The baby fussed when he was no longer snuggling into Harry's belly. Harry moved his legs so that Draco would bounce; he offered the sippy cup and Draco eyed it for a moment. When Harry waved it around, Draco finally grabbed it with both hands, with Harry supporting the bottom, and drank heartily. Harry watched with a soft smile as Draco finished with his milk; the baby's lips released the sippy cup and he pushed it out in front of him. The brunet took the cup away before it would fall onto the ground.

"How about some pancakes, hm?" Harry wrapped one arm around Draco's tummy and with the other, pulled the two plates closer to him. He picked up his fork and speared a piece of pancake for Draco. "Open wide, Draco." He presented the pancake piece for the baby.

Draco giggled before opening his mouth; Harry carefully fed Draco with the utensil. When the pair of small lips wrapped around the fork, Harry slowly pulled back and looked down to watch Draco chew.

"Good?" Harry was already spearing another piece when Draco burbled and nodded.

Draco was being fed some more pancakes by his mummy when Hermione appeared, looking fresh and ready to start the week. She smiled widely when Draco held out his arms at her.

"I-nee! I-nee!" Draco cried; he was kicking his small feet and wriggling around in Harry's arm. Potter had to tighten his hold to prevent his baby from slipping.

"Hey there, little guy," Hermione crooned, bending down and kissing Draco on his forehead. She looked up and smiled at Harry. "Good morning, Harry."

"Morning," Harry said, smiling, "it seems he improved on saying your name."

"Of course, I was drilling him last night. You were there. I must've repeated my name fifty times." She tickled Draco's chin. "Isn't that right, Draco?"

"'Ite!" Draco mimicked. "I-nee, Ay-o!"

Hermione laughed and sat down next to Harry, putting her book bag on the ground. "He's saying his own name much better now." She took Draco's waving hand and kissed it; Draco squealed happily and then turned back to his mum.

"You weren't the only one training him to say names," Harry said smugly; he fed Draco another piece of pancake. He rubbed his baby's puffed out cheeks as Draco chewed. "Draco's a fast learner."

Hermione was about to agree when there was a 'thump' down the hall and a few seconds later, Ron stumbled out from his room and sat down like a sack of rocks across from Hermione. Ron then let out a long yawn that made Draco erupt in giggles. Harry clucked his tongue, worried that there was still some pancake in Draco's mouth. He didn't want his precious baby to choke. But Draco was alright as he continued to laugh at the sound Ron made. The redheaded teen chuckled and scooted his chair forward.

"Good morning," Ron closed his eyes and opened them again; a plate of breakfast appeared before him. He reached across the table and ruffled Draco's hair. "How are ya today, little man?"

Draco smiled at Ron and showed the teen his eight white teeth. "On!"

Ron sat back and picked up his utensils. "I'm 'On' now, am I?"

Harry laughed and pushed the now empty plate away. "He can't really pronounce the 'r' sound yet. This is better than calling you 'Nnn' isn't it?"

"It sure is. It was like Draco was constipated or something," Ron smirked and dug into his breakfast. "He's growing so fast… four more days and he'll be a year old. I'm scared to think how he'll be like when he's older." Ron then did a one shoulder shrug and worked his way through his breakfast.

"Draco's a nice kid," Hermione said; she was eating her waffles. She turned to Harry and looked at him expectantly. "I thought you wanted to have a small party for Draco, Harry."

"Oh yes. With cake and all that," Harry laughed. "I'm sure the little guy here would love it." Harry bent down and kissed Draco on the cheek. "Isn't that right, Draco?"

Draco smiled. "Ma! Mamuh!" He held up his arms and twisted his body halfway; Harry lifted him up and held him. Once Draco was pressed against Harry's front, he started playing with his mummy's hair.

"I know _I'll_ love it," Ron piped up, his face stuffed with eggs. When Hermione gave him a look, he stared at her. "What? There's _cake_; I love cake."

Draco turned halfway around and grinned brightly. "'On ood!"

Ron arched his eyebrow and stared at the baby. "Did he just call me 'food'?"

Harry and Hermione burst out in laughter while Draco looked innocent with wide eyes. He didn't know what was going on.

"Oh… I'm sure Draco didn't call you 'food', Ron," Harry choked out. "He was probably agreeing that you like food."

"Ah, well. Just for that, you better have some good chocolate cake on Friday."

* * *

**.: Transfiguration – 3:45 p.m. :.**

Hermione was putting her quill and textbooks away when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head a little and found Blaise's dark eyes looking at her; he was smiling charmingly as well.

"Hermione, can I talk with you for a second?"

The witch smiled and closed the flap of her book bag; she found Ron standing not too far away. He rolled his eyes and walked out of the classroom by himself.

"You have such great timing, Blaise." Hermione giggled when the dark-skinned boy blinked at her. "I wanted to talk to you or Pansy actually. You know how Draco ages one year every two weeks, right?"

"Er… Professor Snape kind of mentioned that when he spoke with Pansy and I," Blaise said slowly. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Hermione laughed and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. "Harry is planning to have a small party for Draco and I thought you and Pansy would like to attend… if you guys don't mind."

"Oh… Oh! Well, we love to come. I was going to ask you if Pansy and I can visit… and… you just gave us an invitation!" Blaise chuckled and walked with Hermione. "Is it a nighttime event?"

"I guess so. Nighttime seems good. It's a Friday… and we don't have classes on Saturday," Hermione said. "Harry is excited; he'll be happier when I tell him you guys are coming. He understands how Draco is to you and Pansy."

They stopped by the doorway; Blaise tentatively held out his hand. He hesitated for a second before giving Hermione an awkward hug. Hermione laughed and returned the gesture.

"Tell Po… Harry… Tell him thanks."

"For inviting you?"

"No, for everything really… For understanding, for being forgiving, for taking care of Draco…"

"Well, Harry's like that. He has a big heart." Hermione smiled at the teen. "He's a good friend."

"Yeah, he is…" Blaise smiled lightly. "Oh… there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Tell him thanks for _loving_ Draco."

* * *

**.: Private quarters – 7:20 p.m. :. **

Harry, Hermione, and Ron had finished their dinner and were now lounging around in the living room. Harry was sitting in the armchair with Draco in his lap while Hermione and Ron sat in the couch across from the brunet. Hermione was cradling her cup of hot cocoa as she watched Harry playing with Draco's small toes. She chuckled when Draco squirmed and giggled; obviously the blond was ticklish.

"Look at this, guys!" Harry said, holding one of Draco's feet. "Have you ever seen anything so tiny? Merlin, I'm sure Draco as a teen had huge feet. I mean, he was so tall!" Harry gently pulled at Draco's big toe; the infant squealed and wriggled some more.

"I'm sure you're right," Hermione said while Ron snorted.

Draco was giggling uncontrollably as his mummy held his foot; he curled up his tiny toes and tried to pull his foot away. Harry laughed and let go, gently placing the foot back down. Draco rolled halfway around until one side of his face was buried into Harry's stomach.

He liked using Harry's belly as a pillow. Very much.

"So… Blaise said he'll come on Friday?" Harry asked; he was rubbing Draco's arm.

The baby shoved his fist into his mouth and chewed. Harry clucked his tongue and took the small fist out. Draco didn't mind that in the least. Instead, he let out a small sniff and mouthed Harry's sleep shirt. It was one of those times where Draco chewed anything in his sight.

"Yes, he said he would tell Pansy about it. Also, he wanted me to tell you thanks."

Harry was taken aback. "For what? For inviting them? They're his friends…"

"I said the exact same thing. Blaise wanted to thank you for more than that." Hermione set her cup down and tucked her feet under her.

"What did he want?" Ron asked; he made a face at the baby when Draco looked his way. The blond squealed and flapped his arm at the redhead.

"For understanding, for caring, for being forgiving, and for loving him," Hermione answered. Harry gaped at his friend.

"That's… a lot of things," Harry said.

"'Ot ingss!" Draco babbled; Harry chuckled and tickled Draco's tummy.

"Even Draco agrees, right love?"

"Mahma… Ma!"

Ron let out a bark of laughter. "Maybe you should teach him how to say 'yes' so that he wouldn't say 'Mama' everytime he agrees with you."

"Nonsense, Draco loves his mummy that's all," Harry replied; he lifted the baby up and held him close. Draco was more than happy to snuggle with Harry. "Then I guess it's settled. We're definitely having the party. More people, the better."

Ron pumped his fists in the air. "Yes! I get to have cake!"

"All you care about is food, Ronald," Hermione chided.

"It's a special day! Our little man is turning one, and that's special. Right, Draco?" Ron asked.

Draco, who had been playing with Harry's soft hair, did not turn around to look at the redheaded teen.

"'Ite!" Draco burbled from Harry's shoulder.

"Hey, he knows I'm talking to him," Ron said, amazed. "Smart kid."

"He's _my_ smart baby," Harry cooed, rubbing his cheek against Draco's. His baby gurgled softly and rubbed Harry's face as well.

_Love you._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Draco's party is next!! Oh… he'll be one… D: But he'll still be a cute baby! Yes!! Maybe I'll have Harry bring Draco outside… and then we'll see people's reactions :O

Thanks for reading!! :D


	8. Chapter 8: A Year of His Life

A/N: Well, I am royally pissed off that Warner Brothers moved the sixth Harry Potter movie to next summer! I've been waiting and dreaming about watching it! D: Now, I have to wait another whole YEAR! My anger knows no bounds! xD

**Thank you for all the reviews! :)**

I am finally done with my other De-Aging fic. I'll bring in another story to work on, probably "At Your Doorstep" or "Healing Visions".

**A year to wait is such a long time… :(**

Sorry that this chapter took so long… Haha… I've been watching the Olympics xD

_To glitterball: Here's the newest chapter! And please don't kidnap Draco D: I need him to be in the story :P_

**Chapter 8 **

_**A Year of His Life**_

**.: Friday, November 14, 1997 – 7: 52 a.m. One year old :. **

'_Today, my baby's turning one…'_ was the first thought that came to Harry's mind on Friday morning.

Harry yawned and sat up, stretching his body, twisting it left and right. A pair of silver-mercury eyes watched Harry's every move; a cheerful smile was on Draco's cherub face. His mummy finally woke up.

As Harry twisted to the right, his eyes finally landed on Draco's crib, and saw the little baby sitting upright inside. Draco was holding on to the bars surrounding the crib, giggling now that Harry was looking at him. The green-eyed teen swelled with love and got off the bed.

"Mama up! T'is! T'is!" Draco squealed and bounced inside his small bed; he reached out through the bars, silently asking Harry to pick him up.

"How long were you awake, hmm?" Harry cooed and bent over the crib, reaching inside to lift his baby out. Draco giggled and buried his face into his mum's neck. "You're awfully cheerful today, Draco," Harry laughed and planted a kiss on Draco's temple. He held Draco at arms' length and inspected the baby. "You certainly look bigger. It's no wonder; you _are_ turning one today."

Draco kicked his small feet at his mum and smiled. "Ma! T'is Dayo!" He puckered his cherry lips at Harry, demanding to receive his morning kiss.

Harry laughed and spun, with Draco still held high in the air. The baby laughed and was flapping his arms as Harry turned. After three spins, Harry brought Draco back down and kissed him right on the lips. Draco reached out and smacked Harry's face gently.

"Wuv mummy," Draco said happily and wrapped his short arms around Harry's neck.

"Mummy loves you, too," Harry murmured softly; he pressed his cheek on top of Draco's head and smiled when Draco giggled. "Let's change you into more comfortable clothes. You're a big boy now and shouldn't have to wear a romper suit for the entire day."

Draco pouted, sticking out his bottom lip at Harry. "No womp!" He 'humphed' and went back to snuggling.

Harry chuckled and rubbed his baby's back. "I wonder if you were this picky about clothes when you were a baby the first time around," Harry mused; he moved his hand up and smoothed down Draco's tuft of blond hair. "Soon, I'll hear you complain about your hair."

HPDMHPDM

"Good morning, Harry, and good morning to you too, Draco," Hermione greeted when Harry came out, carrying a nicely dressed baby in his arms. Draco squealed and waved at the girl.

"Miney!"

Harry chuckled and settled his baby in the highchair. Draco was dressed in little blue baby jeans, a red baby sweater with snitches on it, and tiny white trainers. Just as Harry sat down, his plate of breakfast appeared along with Draco's cup of milk and a bowl of oatmeal. A bib also appeared and Harry tied that around Draco's neck. The blond looked down at his bib and poked at the duck waddling around on it. Draco giggled.

"So, you have everything planned out today?" Hermione asked as Harry fed Draco his oatmeal.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to bring him out to lunch… Just letting the students know Draco's not… gone or something." Harry watched as Draco made faces as the baby chewed on his oatmeal.

"Wouldn't it be too much for him? I mean, Draco hasn't been outside this room since he became a baby… The people and noises might scare him, not to mention there are those that… dislike Draco when he was a teen," Hermione said. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Harry scooped another spoonful of oatmeal and held it away from Draco. The baby looked up at his mum and opened his mouth, but Harry wasn't paying attention. Draco pouted and smacked his hands on the highchair.

"Mama!"

Harry looked down at Draco and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, baby, mummy was thinking about something." Harry pressed the spoon on Draco's lips and the baby happily ate the oatmeal. Harry then used the bib to wipe Draco's mouth clean. The duck 'quacked', making Draco giggle with the mouthful of oatmeal.

"Anyway, about the people and noise thing… I'm going to be there, so Draco would be fine. Also, I haven't seen the other Gryffindors for almost a month… I miss them," Harry said, sighing.

Draco looked away from the quacking duck and reached up to place his small hand on Harry's chin. Since he was sitting, only the tips of his fingers touched. Harry looked down at his baby when he felt the small fingers on his skin; he took Draco's hand and held it between his thumb and forefinger. It still amazed Harry on just how _tiny_ Draco's hands were.

"Mama, no. No," Draco said, frowning. His frown then turned into a small smile. "S'ile mummy!"

"Is Draco telling you to smile more?" Hermione asked when Draco held out his arms for Harry to take.

The green-eyed teen chuckled and set the bowl of oatmeal down on the table. He obliged Draco's request and took his baby out from the highchair. Potter stood Draco on his lap and held the infant securely.

"My baby doesn't like seeing his mummy sad. Right, Draco?" Harry kissed Draco's chubby cheeks and pulled back to look at him.

"'Ite!" Draco agreed and leaned in to brush his lips across Harry's nose.

When all he did was leave a trail of saliva, Harry laughed and wiped his nose with his finger, while his other arm was wrapped around Draco's small body. The baby squealed merrily and tugged at Harry's jacket, treading carefully on Harry's thighs. Draco stood nose to nose with Harry; he blinked at the green-eyed teen.

"Mama 'appy?" Draco asked, tilting his head to the side. He smiled when his mummy gave him another kiss.

"Of course… Mama have little Draco. I'll always be happy with you around."

* * *

**.: Later in the day – 12:43 p.m. :.**

It was well into the afternoon; Harry was sitting in the middle of the living room while having a watchful eye on his charge. The small baby was beginning to walk, albeit a bit wobbly. Harry had made sure all the tables were moved aside so that none of the corners would be sticking out. They could hurt Draco if he tumbled as he tried to walk.

At first, Harry had to hold Draco's hands, guiding the small babe while Draco toddled in front of his legs. It was fun watching his baby walk. Draco would pick up one foot, let it hover above the ground uncertainly, and then he would put it forward and take a step. More than once, Draco almost fell on his bum but Harry was always there, holding on to him.

As his steps got steadier, Harry let go and just stood behind Draco. Since the floor was carpeted, it wasn't too painful for Draco if he fell, which he did—many times. But being a determined baby like he was, Draco never shed a tear. He would just push himself off the floor, wobble a bit, and then waddled away from Harry—toward the couches—before falling again. Harry had laughed a couple of times when it seemed Draco was 'running' away from his mummy. Now, after almost an hour of practicing walking, Draco could toddle from the couch over to where Harry was sitting, who was waiting for Draco with open arms, without landing on his bum.

"Come on, Draco. You can do it," Harry coaxed from his sitting spot; Draco was holding on to the edge of the sofa seat, his head turned back to look over at his mum.

The baby smiled and let go. Draco waddled over to Harry quickly, giggling the whole way, and looked extremely adorable in the way his short legs carried him over. With one excited squeal, Draco launched himself into Harry's arms and held his mummy tight. Harry laughed and kissed his baby as a reward.

"I'm so proud of you," Harry said; he moved Draco around until the baby was lying comfortably in his arms.

Harry tickled Draco's rounded tummy and laughed along with Draco when his baby giggled from being tickled. When Draco's laughter died down, he turned and pressed his face into Harry's jacket covered chest. Draco closed his eyes and automatically stuck his thumb into his mouth; it had been a tiring afternoon for him. Potter smiled down at the infant and took out his wand. Casting a _Tempus_, Harry found out it was nearing one in the afternoon.

"Time to meet Mione and Ron…" Harry muttered and stood up carefully, not wanting to jostle the napping baby in his arms.

* * *

**.: Great Hall – 1:13 p.m. :.**

"_Is that Malfoy? What the fuck happened to him?"_

"_Oh, look at the cute little baby in Harry's arms!"_

"_Hah, Malfoy's a babe. Not so high and mighty now, is he?"_

"_Hey, Potter! How is your 'son'? You actually went through the pregnancy! Was hoping you miscarried…"_

Harry growled and walked past all those rude people, staring and muttering as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. He did not mind one bit that they were making rude remarks about him, but all the whisperings and jeering had Draco shaking in his arms. The poor baby was whimpering, tears trailing down his pale cheeks. Only when Harry whispered sweet things into Draco's ears did the baby calm down, but nonetheless, he still had his face buried in Harry's shoulder.

By the time he was sitting in between Hermione and Ron, Harry was thoroughly pissed off. He scowled at the Gryffindors; Harry didn't want to scream at all those other people. It would only scare Draco even more.

"Don't any of you _dare_ say anything about Draco," Harry snarled at his housemates. "Say something bad, you'll answer to me." Harry was breathing heavily, but was still somewhat calm enough to sooth the baby in his arms.

All Gryffindors, close enough to hear Harry, looked at him warily and returned to their lunches.

Hermione had reached over and was cooing at Draco, running her fingers through his soft blond hair. Draco sniffed and turned a bit to look at the girl; he smiled but his bottom lip was trembling.

"Miney…" Draco sniffed; Hermione smiled and smoothed her thumb on Draco's cheek to clear the tears away.

"Hey, Draco… Remember this morning? Make your mummy smile again, yeah?" Hermione knew only Draco could break through to Harry. The green-eyed teen was much too angry right now to hear any words from other people. "Your mum's sad… Make him smile, love."

With total understanding of a one year old child, Draco straightened himself and looked up at his mum. Harry was still scowling so his attention was not on Draco.

"Mama… no…" Draco said softly; Harry tensed but relaxed as he looked down.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Draco. We shouldn't have come out here. Hermione was right…" Harry murmured; he placed his cheek on top of Draco's head and closed his eyes.

Draco moved his head and snuggled with Harry. "Wuv yoo… Dayo wub mummy."

Harry opened his eyes and smiled. "Yes, and mummy loves Draco. That's all that matters, isn't it?"

"Yeh!" Draco giggled, the previous events forgotten.

_Nothing else matters…_

* * *

**.: Back in the rooms – 1:50 p.m. :. **

"I did say there would be those rude people," Hermione said. "I just don't understand them."

Harry was feeding Draco little bits of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while he had a small plate of pasta already. The teen wasn't feeling too hungry; the Great Hall events truly upset him. Draco opened his mouth and Harry put another square of bread inside.

"They never saw the other side of Draco Malfoy," Harry murmured; he wasn't looking at Hermione or Ron. All his attention was on the baby in front of him. He smiled when Draco chewed his food enthusiastically. Watching his baby made him happier.

"I looked over to the Slytherin table earlier," Ron said. "Parkinson looked ready to kill someone."

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Harry asked, clearly agitated. "I'm not going to even bring Draco out again until he's two. That was what Dumbledore told me to do months ago."

"It's a good thing our classes are mostly with Slytherins, huh?" Ron queried. "At least… they _know_ Draco, unlike those Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows as the 'adults' talked. His mummy wasn't feeding him! Draco 'humphed' and reached over to grab a piece of his sandwich. Harry chuckled and pretended he didn't see what the baby was doing, although he _did_ catch Draco looking up at him before stuffing the bread into his small mouth. Hermione and Ron had also noticed the child's actions and they both chuckled softly.

"Draco, you don't need mummy to feed you now, is that right?" Harry looked at the baby sitting in his lap, mock sternly.

With his cheeks puffed out, all Draco did was blink and mumbled, "Muh…"

Harry tapped the tip of Draco's nose, making the infant scrunch up his face. "If only I had a camera… I would take pictures of you and show you when you're…" Harry hesitated and stopped talking altogether. He stroked Draco's cheeks. "… Maybe I'll just keep them to myself."

* * *

**.: Party time! – 8:20 p.m. :.**

"'Ansie! Ace!" Draco giggled and held out his arms; the two Slytherins had just walked into the living room for Draco's supposedly 'birthday party'.

Harry bounced the small boy and planted him on his hips. Draco squealed and clapped as his mama bounced him up and down. Pansy came over to the duo and bent down to kiss Draco on the cheek. She carded her fingers through his blond hair and looked at Harry.

"How are you, Harry?" Pansy asked; she tickled Draco's chin as Harry shrugged.

"I'm alright… If you want to know how I felt after today's fiasco: I was extremely… angry," Harry muttered; he chose his words carefully and kept his voice calm. He didn't want to scare Draco.

"Those jerks… Their Head of House gave them detention," Pansy smirked, "you left before it happened."

"I'll have you know, I had to hold Pansy down. She was about to jump out of her seat and attack," Blaise joked, trying to lighten things up.

"Shut up, Blaise. You were as angry as I was," Pansy snapped; she let out a long breath when Harry glared at her. Draco was looking at them with wide, silver eyes.

"No, no sad!" Draco demanded; he pouted and dropped his head onto Harry's shoulder. "Mama no 'appy!" He pressed his face into the warm skin and nuzzled. "Wub mummy…"

Harry smirked at the two Slytherins. "He's _very_ protective of me. Draco doesn't like seeing me sad."

"Well, _that's_ obvious," Blaise said, tilting his head at Draco's direction. The baby had his arms securely wrapped around Harry's neck, playing with the ends of Harry's hair. "And you, Harry, is protective of him, too."

"Always…" Harry whispered; he looked at the Slytherins and put on a smile. "Let's start the celebration, shall we? Ron's been whining about when he would get his cake." Harry had his hand around Draco's neck, gently massaging.

"Weasley and food… Guess we just have to make sure he's not going to eat the whole cake. Have to save some for the birthday boy here," Pansy smirked; she reached out and curled her fingers around Draco's hair, softly pulling it to make it stand up.

"Don't worry… I've put a shield around it… Ron can't touch it until we're all here," Harry laughed; the rumbling sensation from Harry's chest was making Draco giggle.

Well, his mummy was happy; Draco sighed and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

HPDMHPDM

Draco was staring in awe at the big chocolate cake in front of him. Of course, being only a year old, he didn't really understand what it was, except that it's brown, pretty looking, and smelled really good. Also, he thought it was funny when his mama was singing. So the whole time Harry sang, Draco laughed and giggled.

The group of teens had sang the birthday song to Draco, stuck one candle in the cake, lit it up, and then Harry had taken Draco out from his highchair to hold him. Potter had noticed the way his baby was looking at the cake, baffled, and he laughed.

"Draco, make a wish," Harry said happily; Ron and Pansy snorted.

"He doesn't know what a wish is," Ron said; Pansy giggled and nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter!" Harry retorted, smiling. "Alright, love, close your eyes."

Draco cooed and did what was asked; he understood what his mum just said.

Harry turned a bit to see if Draco really had his eyes closed. Then he looked at his friends, nodding at Hermione and Blaise. Those two were supposed to be the ones to blow out the candle since Harry was sure Draco didn't know how.

"Okay, open your eyes, Draco," Harry said and moved Draco until the baby was standing on his lap, right in front of him.

"O-pen!" Draco repeated and blinked a few times to get his eyes adjusted again. He clapped when 'Miney' and 'Ace' blew out the candle. "No 'ore! Bye-bye!" Draco then flapped his small hand at the blown out candle.

"Oh Merlin! He's so darn cute!" Pansy cried out, laughing. "He waved goodbye at the candle. Hold him tight, Harry. I'm going to take out my camera." Pansy fished around in her school bag and took out a wizard camera. She held it to her eyes and pointed the lens at Harry and the blond. "Smile guys! Smile for the camera!"

"Oh! You have one! Pansy, you must give me some copies of the photos. I think I'm going to make an album," Harry requested. The girl smirked and nodded. Harry then kissed Draco on the cheek. "Look at Pansy and smile, love."

Draco was eyeing the camera with interest. When the brunet asked him to smile, he did so, but not before looking at his mummy to see if he was smiling, too. Harry was and so, Draco beamed, showing off his white teeth.

"S'ile! Mama, 'ook!" Draco pointed at the camera.

Harry laughed and took one of Draco's hands; he made Draco wave at the camera. Pansy snapped the picture, grinning from behind the camera. She put the camera down and set it onto the dining table.

"Good thing I brought lots of film," Pansy smirked, "would you like to borrow it, Harry? You can return it once… once Draco's back to his old self."

"I-I don't know… It's your camera…" Harry bit his lip, looking uncertain.

"Nonsense! Like you said, it's my camera, and I say I'm going to lend it to you." Pansy reached into her school bag again and took out some film. "Here are the extra films. One roll can take up to at least fifty pictures." She then pushed the camera and the films towards Harry.

"Harry, remember you wanted to take pictures?" Hermione piped up. "Think of it this way, you can take them and I'll develop them for you. I know the spell. I could also duplicate every picture so that Pansy and Blaise can have copies as well. You're helping them make an album and I'm sure they'll like that."

Harry looked at the Slytherins; Blaise and Pansy smiled at him.

"Oh, alright. I'll take them," Harry smiled; he turned to Draco and looked right at his baby. "How about that, Draco? Mama's going to take lots of pictures of you."

"Pictews!" Draco squealed; he had no idea what that word meant, but his mum was saying it and looked happy.

The group laughed and enjoyed the rest of the evening together.

* * *

**.: Later – 11:45 p.m. :.**

Harry was sitting in his bed, looking through a small stack of photos that Hermione had developed for him earlier. He looked over at the crib and chuckled; Draco was sleeping soundly with his thumb lodged between his lips. The baby was even drooling. Harry wondered if his baby was dreaming about a tall chocolate cake.

Looking down at the pictures, Harry watched each one replay whatever scene the camera had taken.

_Draco stuffing his face with cake, chocolate icing smeared all over his chin. Harry then came into the picture, using his finger to wipe away the chocolate._

_Pansy scooping some icing onto her finger and drew a happy face on Blaise's face._

_Hermione was slapping Ron on his back when the redhead laughed too much and was starting to choke._

_Draco holding up some cake for Harry, offering it for his mum. Harry laughed and ate piece of cake from Draco's fingers, making the baby laugh… _

Harry sighed and straightened his stack of photos; he turned to the side and opened a drawer in one of the bedside tables. He placed the stack in right next to the camera and the rolls of film.

Too bad he couldn't show them to the grown-up Draco. But that was alright. Harry will treasure them.

They were for him to keep. Always.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Yay! I'm done with the chapter (finally). :D

Thanks for reading! :)


	9. Chapter 9: Picture Perfect

A/N: School starts soon for me :( and you know what that means. Yes, updates will be even slower Dx I'm sorry!! –begs for forgiveness-

**Thank you for all the reviews! :)**

Ahem. I have decided to bring in "Healing Visions" even if the story pisses me off. It would sometimes "disappear" from my list of stories _or_ people had been PMing me, saying how they can't read chapters. I have no idea why it happens. Maybe ff . net hates me :P

**Chapter 9**

_**Picture Perfect**_

**.: Sunday, November 23, 1997 – 7:18 p.m. one year and nine months :. **

Harry was sitting on the carpeted floor, behind the coffee table, with little Draco next to him. The brunet had taken some baby toys from the nursery and strewn them across the floor. They were more than enough to keep the blond baby occupied. Currently, his baby was sitting next to his hips, smashing plushy blocks together. Draco would stack three to four blocks before pushing them down, all the while giggling and going 'bye!' to them. Harry chuckled and picked up the camera from the coffee table, snapping a picture of Draco playing. He would develop it later; Hermione had taught him the spell.

The camera was always with him nowadays. Since Pansy had left the instrument in his care, Harry never failed to _not_ have it by his side. Every little thing Draco did, Harry would take a picture. Just in the short period of nine days, Harry had taken over seventy photos.

Thus, it brought us to what Harry was doing in the living room.

Harry was smiling as he opened a leather bound album to the first page. The book was still empty, but that was about to change. It was a magical album, unlike the Muggle ones. Once you put a photo in it, the picture would stick and nothing can dislodge it. Only the owner of the album and the photos could remove any pictures.

The green-eyed teen reached out and took hold of his current stack of animated snapshots. The topmost one was of Draco eating his birthday cake. Harry chuckled when picture Draco smeared chocolate icing all over his chin. The real Draco looked up from his plushy blocks when he heard his mum chuckle.

"Mama? You happy?" Draco asked, looking right up at Harry. "Dwako wuv mummy laf." The silver-eyed babe laughed merrily when Harry swept him up from the floor and placed him on his lap.

"Ah, yes. Mummy's happy," Harry told the baby; he kissed the top of Draco's head. "Would you like to help mummy put the pictures into this book?" Harry jabbed his index finger onto the first page of the album.

Draco pulled himself closer to the table by putting his hands on the edge. He straightened his back and peeked at the opened album.

"Mama… Wats it?" Draco pointed his chubby finger at the album.

Harry pulled the book closer to Draco and took the first photo from the stack. "Remember this picture, Draco?"

His baby nodded and smacked his small palm on the snapshot. "Dats me! Dats Dwako!" Draco giggled and frowned when his picture self messily ate the cake. "Ooo… bad Dwako! I mess! Mama wook!"

Draco was scowling now.

Harry laughed loudly, making the toddler bounce around in his lap. "Oh, love… Only you would yell at yourself."

Draco pouted; Harry handed the picture to Draco, who took it gingerly and held it in his small hands.

"Alright, now you put the picture onto the page," Harry instructed and pointed at a spot; he pulled the album down until it was propped against the edge of the coffee table. Draco tilted his little head before smacking the photo right at the top of the empty page. Harry chuckled and straightened it. "Very good, Draco!"

Draco clapped his hands together. "I good! Mama pwoud?" He looked at his mummy, upside down.

Potter craned his neck and kissed Draco's eyelids. The small child giggled softly before closing his eyes so that his mummy can kiss him.

"I'm always proud of you, little man," Harry said after he kissed his baby. "Now, how about putting picture number two?" He took another picture and handed that to Draco.

The second picture was taken the day after Draco's 'birthday' party. In it were Harry and Draco playing together; Ron was the one that took it. Picture Draco was trying to roll away from Harry while the brunet effortlessly pulled his baby back towards him. Then, Harry bent down and blew a raspberry on Draco's tummy. It had made Draco laughed so hard, it gave the small baby a case of hiccups.

Draco stared at the photo his mama had just given him. He cooed when picture Harry blew on picture Draco's belly.

"My tummy," Draco said, touching the picture. "Pff 'ickles. Dats mama, w'ite dere." Draco squealed and kissed the picture, right where Harry was.

Harry had thought the gesture was so sweet and cute he couldn't help but hold his baby closer to him and snuggled.

"How come I don't get a kiss, Draco? You gave the picture one," Harry said jokingly, pouting; Draco turned and stared at Harry with wide eyes.

"Mama won kiss-kiss?" Draco asked cutely. "Dwako gif mummy a kiss." With that, Draco planted a wet one right on Harry's chin. He couldn't reach Harry's cheek or lips. "All bettah!"

Harry chortled and helped Draco put the photo onto the album page. He snickered when Draco had tilted his head, to think about how to put the snapshot. It went on crooked, just like the first one, but Harry straightened it out. Potter smiled when Draco puffed up in pride when he praised the toddler.

"I maked mama pwoud!" Draco declared with the confidence of an almost two year old child. Harry smiled to himself and nuzzled Draco's blond hair.

"Mm… Yes you do, love. Yes you do."

* * *

"How's the album going?" Ron asked as he came out from showering; he was drying his hair so the towel was draped on top of his head. The redhead rolled his eyes, with a smile, when Draco saw him and started giggling.

"Mama wook! It's Won!" Draco laughed and held out his hands. Ron came by and picked the baby out from Harry's arms.

"We filled three pages so far," Harry answered; he chuckled when Ron began spinning with Draco held high in the air. Childish laughter filled the room. "You better be careful and not drop my baby, Ron." Harry warned, mock sternly.

Ron laughed. "I'm not stupid, Harry. No way in hell will I drop your precious baby…unless I want to die by your wand." Weasley winked and lowered the laughing baby; he sat down on the couch and plopped Draco on his lap.

"You know, I should take some pictures of you holding and playing with Draco," Harry said cheekily. Ron made a face at Harry and started playing with Draco's feet.

"No way, Harry! Malfoy will kill me! But then again, he'll remember…" Ron gulped. "Oh man… He's going to be pissed."

Draco blinked at his mama and then tilted his head to look up at Ron. "Oo's Mafoy?"

Harry glared at the redhead and held out his arms; Ron smiled sheepishly and handed the baby over. Draco giggled and at once buried his head in Harry's shoulder. Harry rubbed his baby's back and kissed Draco's temple.

"Malfoy is mummy's… friend, Draco," Harry whispered. Draco 'oohed' and rubbed his cheek on his mum's shoulder.

"Mama fwend?"

"Yes, he's mama's friend."

"Is Mafoy nice-nice?"

Harry smiled sadly and nodded. "Of course."

Draco sighed against Harry's neck. "Good Mafoy… Maked mama 'appy?"

"Mmhmm…"

Ron shook his head sadly. More than ever, he really hoped when Draco was back to his normal age, the blond would not treat Harry the way he did.

* * *

**.: Tuesday, November 25, 1997 – 3:46 p.m. one year and eleven months :. **

"You're very excited aren't you, Draco?" Harry asked, laughing; Draco nodded fervently, got off the tricycle clumsily, and toddled over to where Harry was sitting.

"Mama pway wif Dwako?" Draco asked as he fell into Harry's arms. "I wide tricle!"

"Yes, you were riding the tricycle!" Harry gushed and kissed Draco on the forehead. "Was it fun?"

"Yeh!" Draco giggled.

They were in Draco's nursery, or toy room, playing with the many toys and gadgets Dumbledore had put into the room. Since Draco was older now, there were things he couldn't' play with when he was a baby. For example, there was a medium sized plastic ball pool (yes, the room is big enough). Harry had paled and went into panic mode when he put Draco in the first time. The small child sank like a stone and was covered in two seconds flat; Draco had slipped and fell on his back, thus the balls had covered him. Harry had cried out in horror and fished Draco right out. The brunet groaned when all Draco did was laugh; he wasn't scared one bit. Harry had chided himself; they were plastic balls, not water.

Harry had been teaching Draco how to ride the tricycle today. It had taken awhile, but his baby got the hang of it. At first, all Draco did was stomp on the pedals. He cried out in frustration when the small bike stayed where it was. The green-eyed teen had to push Draco around, with his small feet on the pedals. Draco was watching the way his legs and feet moved and when his mummy stopped pushing him around, Draco mimicked the exact way his feet were moving. With total concentration, Draco had made his tricycle move at least three feet before he got tired. He laughed and babbled happy words that were only understood by Draco, not Harry.

"So, are you ready for a nap?" Harry asked; Draco was now sitting in his lap, playing with Harry's jacket zipper.

Draco shook his head. "No naps! No like naps!" The blond looked away from Harry's jacket and pouted at his mummy. Harry chuckled and tapped the pouting lips. Potter laughed even more when Draco let out a small yawn. "… N-no… ahh… Mama no naps…" Contrary to his words, Draco closed his eyes and turned his head, burying his face in Harry's warm chest.

Harry sighed and looked down at the angelic face. Draco was turned towards his chest, a soft smile gracing his features. A small hand was brought up, curled into a loose fist. Harry smoothed Draco's hair back and carefully stood up from his sitting spot. He walked over to the rocking chair near some shelves and sat down, gently rocking to and fro. Soon, Draco's breathing evened out and Harry found himself getting sluggish as well, just by watching his little toddler sleep.

The Gryffindor slunk down a bit in the rocking chair and held Draco tighter. He placed one last kiss on the blond's forehead before closing his eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Draco…"

An hour later, it was how Hermione and Ron found them. Both sound asleep with Draco's small body turned halfway, burrowing into Harry's chest and belly. Harry had his head tilted back, his mouth slightly opened. Hermione giggled softly when she saw the wet splotches on Harry's jacket; Draco drooled quite a lot. Ron went into Harry's room and took a blanket to cover up the boys.

They left quietly, not wanting to wake up the sleeping teen and baby. Hermione turned and looked at them one last time before slowly closing the door.

_Sweet dreams…_

* * *

"Hey, Harry…"

The teen in question looked away from a soapy Draco to find Hermione standing by the bathroom doorway. Draco craned his neck and peeked at the girl from the tub. He giggled and waved shyly.

"Miney!" Draco then splashed around inside the bathtub, making Harry wet in the process. Harry clucked his tongue and immediately, Draco stopped splashing.

"Hey, Hermione… What's up?" Harry wrung the washcloth he was using and tossed that into the sink. "I'm just about finish with Draco's bath." Harry picked up a plastic cup floating inside the tub and poured water all over Draco. The toddler squealed and closed his eyes.

"Nothing… Just seeing if you need any help," Hermione said; she knelt down beside Harry and cupped some water into her hand. She dribbled the warm water on Draco's chest, washing away soap suds.

"Nah, I'm good. It's easier now that Draco can sit up by himself," Harry smiled. He reached into the water and took care of Draco's feet. "I know you have something else on your mind, Hermione. Spill."

Hermione sighed and took the rubber duck from the water. She handed that to Draco who grabbed it and began playing, making weird quacking sounds.

"I-I… Are you really ready to go back? Tomorrow's the day when Draco has to face people…" Hermione murmured. "Sure, we have classes with Slytherins… but let's not forget about the Gryffindors. Some of them might take this chance to…"

"To harm my baby?" Harry spat; he gripped the plastic cup tightly in his hands. Draco stopped quacking and looked at his mummy. Harry turned his head away from Hermione and Draco, his eyes narrowed. "Nobody will even come close. They will regret it, if they hurt Draco in any way."

Draco released his rubber duck and scoot closer to Harry. He reached out, with water dripping from his arm, and gently touched his mummy's face.

"Mama why sad? Dwako here… No hurts," the toddler murmured. "Dwako haf mama, w'ite?"

Harry turned his attention back at Draco; he put on a smile for his baby. "Mama's not sad, little man." Harry dropped the cup into the water and scooped the wet toddler out. Harry stood up and went to the sink, putting Draco on top of a fluffy white towel. "And you're right, Draco. You have mama. Mummy will always be there for you." Potter smiled and bent down to kiss Draco.

Draco cooed and smiled. "Mama wub Dwako?"

"Yes, of course." Harry laughed and started to towel dry the wet toddler.

Draco squirmed as his mum patted him dry. Hermione was standing behind Harry; she had already taken care of the tub. Drained the water and drying the bath toys. She laughed when Draco started giggling, for Harry was tickling the baby through the towel.

"Now, I would never forgive myself if you rolled off the counter, love," Harry smiled and took the sleep suit by the sink. "Let's get you dressed."

Without being asked, Hermione picked Draco up while Harry put the suit on top of the towel. She placed Draco down again and Harry started dressing his baby.

"No sleep… Mama no…" Draco protested when Harry started walking towards the bedroom.

"Draco, it's near your bedtime," Harry said; he bounced the baby when Draco started fussing. When Draco began whimpering, Harry sighed in defeat. "You little brat, so manipulative… and you're barely two years old."

Hermione laughed and watched as Harry calmed the crying baby. "He can't stay up… It's bad for a baby."

"I know… Draco just wants me in the room with him." Harry rolled his eyes; Draco wasn't crying anymore and was now hiccupping. "I let him sleep next to me sometimes. I think Draco just got use to that."

"He sleeps next to you? But he sleeps before you," Hermione exclaimed. "Aren't you afraid that he might roll off or that you might roll on _top_ of him?"

"Ah… well… Sometimes I would take him out from his crib. He cried a couple of times when I came into the room late at night.

"When nothing calmed him down, I took him to my bed and placed him right next to me. Of course, I put some invisible barriers around my bed. I seriously would hate myself if Draco fell out. This little guy here moves a lot when he sleeps.

"Only when I lay down next to him would Draco stop crying. No harm with sleeping with me; he's a snuggler, by the way."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "So I'm guessing tonight's one of those nights? I'll keep him company while you take a shower I guess."

"Yeah, thanks," Harry smiled and handed Draco over.

"Mama sleeps wif Dwako?" the baby asked hopefully.

"What am I going to do with you?" Harry laughed. "Yes, love, mama's going to sleep with you. Now be good for Mione, alright? Mummy's going to take a quick shower."

"Aw'ite!" Draco chirped. "Miney pway wif me!"

"Don't get him too excited or else he wouldn't sleep," Harry warned.

"Oh, Harry! I know _that!_" Hermione smirked, "you're such a mother hen sometimes."

"Hey!" Harry pointed a finger at the girl and wagged it.

Draco and Hermione shared a look before laughing.

* * *

**.: Wednesday, November 26, 1997 – 8:30 a.m. two years old :. **

"Oh, Draco… Don't be afraid. Mama's right here okay? It's okay, baby," Harry soothed.

Draco let out a sob and buried his face into Harry's neck. "We go to mama's cwass? Wif lots of peepul?"

"Mmhmm… I'll be there, so you don't have to worry." Harry patted Draco's back gently and walked into Snape's class.

Students who were already there became silent. Many pairs of eyes watched as Harry walked to the middle of the room and sat down by an unoccupied work table. Harry paid no attention to the students; he dropped his school bag and made Draco comfortable. The toddler was sitting on Harry's lap, staring with wide eyes at everything and everyone else.

So many people… but it's alright. His mum's here.

"Draco, mama's going to give you a highchair to sit on," Harry told the quiet baby. He reached into his school robe and took out a shrunken highchair. The brunet stood up and dropped it onto the ground; it grew in size until it was big enough for Draco to sit on.

The blond whimpered and reached for Harry. Potter smiled and gave the baby one of his fingers to hold.

"I'm going to be working on Potions," Harry whispered. "You have to be very quiet or else the professor will get mad. You don't want him to be mad, do you?" Harry then made Draco look at Snape, who was standing in the front of the class.

"No… No want mad," Draco muttered. "Mummy… Wats pushin?"

Harry chuckled and leaned in to kiss Draco's nose. "It's potions and it's—" Harry looked at Snape before completing his sentence, "—very stinky."

Draco wrinkled his nose; he knew what 'stinky' meant. "Eewwy! 'ucky!"

Harry laughed and patted Draco's head. "That's right, it's yucky."

"Bad pushins!"

Some people snorted while others gasped. Harry even heard a girl or two going 'aww'.

This was going to be a long day.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Another chapter done!! :D I'm so proud of myself :P

Thanks for reading!

_Goodness... I totally messed up on the dates o-o Well, I fixed it! :D Sorry about that... _


	10. Chapter 10: Bad Potions and More

A/N: I just thought I'll do one more chapter before school starts. xP But with my slow as snails pace… this chapter would probably be out a few days after school starts xD

**Thank you for all the reviews! :)**

Haha… Bad potions… Draco is too cute :O I want a baby Draco… or a baby Harry :D Have them toddle around my house x3 –sighs- I can imagine them bickering with each other… in baby language. LOL

**Are there any artists out there? xD I would love to have a picture of baby!Draco drawn… or a baby!Harry :D I just… want to "see" them :3 if somebody does draw, I'll love you forever!**

Uh… in return, I'll type out more chapters! :D

**I come up with the crappiest titles o.o**

**Chapter 10**

_**Bad Potions and More**_

**.: Tuesday, November 26, 1997 – 8:55 a.m. two years old :.**

"Draco!" Harry groaned and looked up at Snape. The man was staring at them both, his face void of any emotions. Snape sneered at Harry before barking at students, telling them to be quiet.

"Mama… Mama…" Draco murmured, tugging at Harry's robes. The brunet sighed and put on a smile for his baby.

"What is it, love?"

"Ish man mad? I dident wanna maked 'im mad," Draco whimpered; Snape was still angrily shouting at the Gryffindors. "Mama mad at Dwako?" Draco did a pitiful sniff and looked down.

Harry melted and took Draco out from the highchair. It was only the first day he had to take Draco with him and it was turning out badly. Harry held the small toddler tightly as Draco sat on his thighs.

"No, baby… He's not mad at us," Harry said reassuringly. "Mama's not mad at Draco either." Draco pouted and looked up at his mummy. Harry chuckled and bent down to kiss Draco's small pair of lips. "But we have to be really good from now on or else the professor will get mad at mummy for real."

Draco let out a gasp and scowled; Harry bit his lips to stop himself from laughing. Even though Draco was scowling, he looked… adorable.

"'Essor no mad at mama! No!" Draco cried out; he crossed his arms and 'humphed'. He turned and was staring at Snape's movements. "He being lowd."

Harry had to make Draco face him again when the toddler actually blew a raspberry at the Potions master. No way did Harry want Snape to see _that_.

HPDMDHPDM

"Mama, dat wooks ucky…" Draco sniffed as Harry took a jar of bat wings. Harry chuckled and bounced the upset toddler; he was currently held near Harry's hips.

"Remember what mummy said, Draco. I need these to make the potion," the brunet said patiently; Harry understood that the potion ingredients were disgusting to look at for a two-year-old child. "If I don't take it back with us, Professor Snape will get mad at mama for not making the potion."

"Bad indents… ucky pushins. Meany 'Napes… Mama no like den Dwako no likey, too," Draco said indignantly. Hermione giggled; she was next to Harry, also getting her needed ingredients.

"If Professor Snape heard that, he'll have a heart attack."

"I know. He's his favorite student," Harry smirked, "Snape will probably blame me for brainwashing Draco." When said baby looked up at him, Harry only smiled and gave Draco a very small vial to hold. "Don't drop that, love. I need you to hold it for me. It's very important."

Draco nodded and looked determined. He held the vial tightly inside his small fist. Curiosity got the better of him and Draco held the vial to his eyes.

"Mummy… wats t'is?"

"That would be a vial of pretty red water," Hermione cut in before Harry got the chance to answer.

"Pwetty?" Draco asked; he smiled and accepted the girl's answer. "Miney says t'is pwetty, mama." He held the vial up to Harry's nose.

Harry laughed and lowered Draco's hand before the toddler had the chance to shove the vial up his nostrils.

"Yes, it is pretty. Now be a good boy and hold it tight, alright?"

"Aw'ite!" Draco then turned away and started poking at the vial, his attention not on Harry.

After making sure that the toddler was busy, Harry looked over at Hermione and smirked.

"Pretty red water?"

The bushy-haired girl returned the smirk. "I know you were going to tell him the truth. Imagine telling Draco that it's 'leech blood'… How would he react?"

Harry sighed, knowing Hermione was right. "Alright… you got me. I _was_ going to say that… I didn't think Draco would know what 'blood' is… Or leech for that matter." Harry looked down at Draco, who was now giggling and shaking the vial gently.

Hermione chuckled. "Let's go before Draco gets too excited and he really _does_ drop the vial. Professor Snape will have our heads. Leech blood is in short supply."

Harry looked away from Hermione and sighed. Draco was now tilting the vial this way and that. Good thing the cork was on securely, or else the blood would surely spill.

"This is all because you told him it's 'pretty red water'," Harry mumbled.

Draco ears perked up when he heard his mum say 'pretty'. He twisted his head and smiled brightly for his mummy.

"Pwetty watew!" For emphasis, Draco shook the vial in Harry's face.

Harry didn't even bother to reprimand Draco. He was just glad that the toddler was more relaxed than when they first entered the class. The green-eyed teen just hoped it would be better for his other classes.

* * *

**.: D.A.D.A – 11:38 a.m. :. **

"I don't want to leave Draco all by himself! He'll cry! I've never been away from him for so long before…" Harry grouched; he was putting some toys he brought for Draco into the playpen. Harry had shrunk the toddler's playpen just for his Defense Against the Dark Arts class; he needed to put his baby somewhere.

Draco was sniffling; he had cried when his mummy told him he had to stay inside. The blond rubbed his eyes and looked up at Harry with tears still swimming in those silver orbs. Draco whimpered softly and held out his arms; he didn't want his mummy to leave him.

"You have to, mate," Ron said. "You can't hold Draco while firing spells or defending yourself. A stray hex might hit him. I'm sure you don't want that."

Harry growled; Ron was right. He bent his body and took Draco out. They still had some minutes before class would start. The professor wasn't even in yet. The trio, plus Draco, were all standing beside the professor's desk; the playpen was set right next to it. Once class started, all the tables and chairs would be spelled aside, leaving a wide open space for students to practice their spells. Harry had even thought of putting a shield around Draco's playpen for safety.

"It's only for an hour and a half, Harry," Hermione said consolingly. "After that, you can hold Draco all you want. I'm sure Draco wouldn't mind. He won't be too far anyway. Draco can see you perfectly from where he's going to be." She reached out and smoothed Draco's soft hair.

Draco sobbed and buried his face in Harry's shoulder. He wrapped his short arms around his mummy's neck and cried. His mummy was going to leave him alone!

Harry bit his lips and bounced Draco in his arms; he whispered sweet words, trying to stop Draco from shedding tears. The baby was having none of it and continued to whimper. Harry looked trouble and smoothed his hand up and down Draco's small back.

"Mama no leave… Dwako no want yoo leave…"

"Oh, love… Mama has to…"

By this time, Pansy and Blaise came over to see what was wrong. Parkinson frowned and carded her fingers through Draco's hair. She cooed at him and kissed his cheek, but Draco still had his face pressed into Harry's shoulder.

"Is he alright? What's wrong?" Pansy asked worriedly.

"He doesn't want me to leave him," Harry muttered. "I have no choice. I can't hold him and fire spells at the same time… It would be too dangerous for Draco."

Right after Harry finished that sentence, their professor walked in. He saw Harry and the group of teens; Professor Randalf smiled lightly and nodded at them.

"Mr. Potter… Class is about to start, why don't you put Mr. Malfoy into the playpen and get prepared."

"I-I… Yes, sir," Harry sighed. "But uh… Can you give a minute? I have to calm him down a bit first."

Professor Randalf smiled. "Of course," he looked at the rest of the group, "all of you go stand with your assigned partners from last time. I'm sure you remember who your partners were."

Harry watched as his friends walked away to the center of the large classroom. He sighed and stood by the playpen. Draco had stopped crying and was eyeing the professor with something close to loathing. Harry smiled sadly and held Draco, making the toddler face him.

"Draco, mama's going to put you in now. It's only for awhile… I promise I'll be back soon," Harry whispered; he kissed Draco's small nose.

Draco's lips trembled and tears once again appeared in his eyes. "Mama, no… I be goods! Dwako good!"

"I know you're a good boy. You'll always be my good baby, Draco… But I really have to go. Remember I told you I have classes?"

"Yeh…" Draco sniffed. "Buh I no wanna!"

"Look, would you like it if I stand nearby?" Harry asked, waving his arm near the playpen. "I'll see you and you can see mama! Is that better?"

Draco gave Harry a full pout and thought about what his mum just said. After awhile, Draco slowly nodded and pointed a chubby finger at a random spot in front of his playpen.

"I won mama dere! W'ite dere… I won mama wif me…"

Harry chuckled at Draco's demand and nodded, finally able to put Draco inside the pen without the toddler bursting into tears. Professor Randalf had been nearby and heard everything. When Harry looked at him, the DADA professor nodded his consent.

"But only if you cast a shield around the pen, Mr. Potter."

Harry smiled gratefully. "Of course, sir," Harry said. He took out his wand from his trousers and waved it around the whole playpen. A white shield appeared, surrounding the playpen.

Draco was watching with fascination; he 'ahhed' when the shield appeared. Draco reached through the bars and poked at it. He giggled when something solid came into contact. When Harry knelt down in front of him, Draco pressed both of his palms against the shield and cooed. He pressed his face in as well and puckered his lips. Clearly Draco was asking for a kiss.

Harry grinned and kissed the shield, somewhere near where Draco had his lips on the other side. Draco fell back onto his bum and stayed down, clapping his hands.

"Mama kiss! I sees yoo, mama!"

"Mmhmm… I'm going to stand there," Harry told the toddler while pointing somewhere four feet in front of the playpen. "Go play with you toys, love. Be good."

"I good! Bye-bye, mummy!" Draco waved.

HPDMHPDM

Draco was holding on to his stuffed lion for dear life as Harry practiced spells a few feet from the playpen. The toddler watched as his mummy hopped around, crying out in surprise, growling with determination, and sometimes, Draco would see his mummy get hit by a funny light. The toddler whimpered and edged closer, one hand wrapped around a bar while the other clutched the lion.

"Mummy… Mama hurt!" Draco cried; tears fell slowly down his rounded cheeks. He winced and shut his eyes when another light grazed Harry's robe. "No, no, no! No more! I want mummy!" Draco then started wailing.

Draco was in total hysterics.

Harry was deflecting a Slytherin's _Expelliarmus_ when he heard Draco's worried cries. Harry frowned and held up his hand at his partner. The girl stopped her wand waving and looked at him.

"What is it, Potter?"

"Something's bothering Draco; I need to check on him," Harry murmured.

The girl, Ella, peered at his robes and smirked. "I think I know why Draco's crying. Your robe is smoking, Potter."

"What?" Harry asked, perplexed. He looked down, and sure enough, a bit of gray smoke was at the hem of his sleeve. He sighed and waved his hand around and patted his sleeve to clear away the smoke. Harry looked up again and smiled at Ella. "Give me a few seconds, yeah?"

"Sure, whatever, but do hurry up. We only have half an hour left."

Harry nodded and marched right up to the playpen, with a still crying Draco inside. Some time during when Harry was talking with Ella, Draco had thrown his stuffed lion aside and now had both hands around the bars. When Harry came up to him, Draco stopped his loud sobs; he looked at his mummy with red, puffy eyes.

"Mama! No more! You hurt! Mama hurt!" Draco wailed; he pushed himself up and stood in the playpen. "Dwako wif yoo… Dunt go away…"

Other students had stopped whatever they were doing when Draco started crying. Now they were watching silently. Even the professor was standing near, waiting.

Harry put on a huge smile, hoping it would cheer Draco up. It worked, a bit. Draco sniffed, his face covered with tears and snot. Potter waved his wand and deactivated the shield.

"Oh, Draco… Mama's not hurt at all," Harry whispered; he took Draco out and held the toddler tight. Harry moved Draco to his hips and with some difficulty, pulled up his sleeve, showing his baby perfectly unmarked skin. "See? Mama doesn't have any boo-boos."

A small hand reached out and wrapped around Harry's wrist. The green-eyed teen let Draco check his hand. The toddler twisted his mummy's bigger hand this way and that, making sure Harry wasn't lying when he said he didn't have any boo-boos. Satisfied to find Harry's skin smooth and cut-free, Draco finally let go and buried his face into Harry's chest, putting snot and tears on Harry's robe in the process.

"No hurts… good. Buh no more, mama. S'tay with Dwako."

Harry kissed the top of Draco's head. "Alright, mama's going to stay with Draco."

"Mr. Potter, feel free to sit behind my desk. If you are going to stay with Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you stay in one place."

Harry swiveled around and faced his professor. Randalf was actually smiling at him, not angry.

"Oh, thank you so much, Sir," Harry said gratefully; he shifted the toddler more securely while also summoning a stuffed toy.

Might as well keep his baby occupied.

Potter sat down behind Professor Randalf's desk and he handed a stuffed snake to Draco, who took it eagerly. The other students were practicing once more; Harry caught Hermione and Ron looking at him. He waved at them, signaling that everything was alright.

* * *

**.: In private rooms – 6:42 p.m. :. **

"It wasn't that bad, Harry," Hermione argued. "Draco was happily playing with his stuffed snake and lion during Transfiguration."

"He was crying for ten minutes straight because my transfigured rat jumped on his head!" Harry snapped. "Out of all days, McGonagall had to make us transfigure paper into a rat. A _lively_ rat." Harry scowled at nothing in particular and pulled Draco closer to him; the toddler was sitting on his lap, drinking a cup of apple juice.

"Mursh mar…" Draco mumbled while drinking through his sippy cup; he frowned and pulled the tip out. "Big rat!"

"Yes, love, a big rat," Harry said. "It was a big rat wasn't it?"

"Big-a rat!" Draco agreed… and then he paused… then he let out a happy sigh. "Mama… I pee-pee."

Hermione burst out in giggles while Ron snorted. Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, toddler and all. He took the sippy cup away and set it on the couch.

"I think I need to potty train you soon," Harry told Draco. "You can't always wear nappies and I'm not always there when you need to change."

He held the blond in one arm while he felt the bottom of Draco's bum with the other. The baby's trousers weren't wet but Harry felt the mushiness of the diaper.

"Poddy? Wats dat?" Draco tilted his head and looked at Harry questioningly.

"It's… uh… a chair of sorts. Or maybe a bucket... But anyway, you go pee-pee in it, that way you don't need a nappy anymore," Harry explained to the two-year-old. "When you learn how to use it, you don't have to worry about wetting your pants."

"Ohh… dats a poddy." Draco shrugged and wiggled in Harry's arm. "Mama, mah nappy wets."

"I know it is… You must be uncomfortable." Harry made a face and walked towards the bathroom. "I might as well give you a bath." Harry tickled Draco tummy, making the toddler laugh.

"Baf time!"

* * *

**.: Later – 9:08 p.m. :. **

"Harry?" Hermione called and pushed the bedroom door wider. She peeked in and found the brunet on the bed, propped up on his elbow, watching Draco sleep. Hermione went inside and tiptoed to the end of the bed. "Is he asleep?"

"He fell asleep not too long ago," Harry murmured; he was gently running his fingers though Draco's baby-soft hair.

"Why is he on your bed again?"

"Draco woke up when I came in here after taking my shower. I took him out, but then he didn't want to be put back into the crib. I gave up trying to coax him back in so I put him under my blanket and he fell asleep. Just like that. I think it's because the blanket and pillow has my scent."

Hermione smiled and just quietly watched her friend stroke the toddler's head. "Draco is very attached to you… I wonder what will happen when he's older. Do you think he'll run into your room in the middle of the night? You know the nursery's going to change into his room when Draco's four or five."

"Mm… I don't know…" Harry's eyes were drooping slightly and Hermione noticed. She chuckled.

"You should sleep as well. Today's been a trying day."

Harry looked away from the sleeping baby and smiled tiredly at the witch. "I _was_ about to fall asleep, but then you came in."

Hermione laughed lightly and shook her head. "Well, don't let me interrupt things. Go to sleep, Harry."

Harry nodded in agreement and rolled off the mattress; he pulled down the corner of the comforter and tucked himself in. The green-eyed teen wiggled around a bit before settling down, spooning Draco. He threw one arm across his baby; Draco instinctively snuggled closer to his mum. For warmth and for comfort.

"Good night, Mione." Harry let out a long yawn.

"Night, Harry…"

When the door closed, Harry shut his eyes and smiled. He could hear the soft suckling sounds coming from Draco; the child was sucking his thumb.

A few minutes later, sleep took Harry… and everything else happened in dreams.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Haha! School started three days ago xP I told you that I'm slow :(

Thanks for reading! :D


	11. Chapter 11: Terrible 'Threes'

A/N: I finally found some time to work on a new chapter… How long has it been?! X.x three weeks almost :(

**Thank you for all the reviews! :) and the favorites… and the alerts :D**

Skipping ahead. Draco is almost three :D Should I give Harry a three-week winter break? xD I love winter, can't you tell? Haha.

**Warning: Kind of boring stuff ahead! Don't say I didn't warn you. I even have this in bold letters lol. **

**Chapter 11**

_**Terrible 'Threes'**_

**.: Wednesday, December 4, 1997 – 7:21 a.m. Two years eight months :.**

"He's getting to that stage, isn't he?" Hermione asked casually; Ron snickered and drank his cup of warm coffee with milk and tons of sugar.

Before he could answer the girl's question, a loud scream of protest came from the direction of Harry's bedroom, followed by sounds of stomping feet.

"I would say he is, Mione," Ron answered. "Draco's being a brat, almost like how he was before he was turned into a baby."

"Ron! Draco is still very much a young boy. That's how children is when they're his age," the witch said briskly. "I hope Harry's not having—"

"Harry's only helping Malfoy dress and he's already like that. I would hate to see when Harry gives the prat a bath," Ron muttered and shoved a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth. "One minute he's an angel, the next he's climbing everywhere, breaking things." Bits of eggs flew out through his lips.

"That was two days ago, Ronald. Draco didn't break the lamp on purpose," Hermione smiled, "he told us he was sorry at least."

"Yeah, _after_ Harry scolded him for being reckless." Ron chuckled through his mouthful of eggs.

Hermione rolled her eyes and didn't even bother to tell the redhead not to laugh with food in his mouth.

But it was true thought. As Draco got closer to turning three, he became more mischievous. But that's the Terrible Twos wasn't it? Well, more like 'Terrible Threes', seeing how Draco's only recently acting this way. Hermione shook her head; at least Harry didn't seem to mind too much.

HPDMHPDM

"I dunt like dat jumpa, mama!" Draco whined when Harry held up a dark blue wool jumper. Harry arched his eyebrow at the toddler.

Almost three and Draco already had a fashion sense.

"This is a perfectly fine jumper, Draco," Harry said; Draco pouted and shook his head. He stomped his foot for emphasis.

"I dunt wan' it!" Draco cried. He then toddled closer to Harry; they were standing by the closet, picking out clothes. Looking up at his mum with doleful eyes, Draco stuck out his bottom lip at the brunet.

When the teen saw those eyes, Harry asked himself, in his head, why couldn't he resist those large, round eyes.

"Why not, love?" Harry was trying very hard not to bend down to pick his baby up and then hugging the small boy tight.

Harry knew Draco was turning three in four days and wasn't really a 'baby' anymore. But Harry didn't care; he still thought of Draco as _his_ baby. The blond was still adorable in his own way, with his rounded cheeks, a bit of baby fat here and there, and not to mention Draco still snuggled with Harry whenever they had the chance. Then there was also the fact Draco was calling Harry his 'mama', even now.

During the past few days, the brunet had pondered whether he should tell Draco that he really wasn't a 'mama'. Draco would have to learn that Harry was a male and therefore he should be 'papa' or at least 'daddy'… up until Draco reached his teen years that is. That will be when Harry had to explain to Draco what had happened. It would be absurd for the blond to call Harry 'daddy' when they're almost the same age.

Harry really didn't want Draco to age back to normal so quickly…

"—ma? Mama? Are you finking about sumding again?" Draco was tugging the hem of Harry's sweater to get the green-eyed teen's attention.

_Maybe_ he'll just wait a few more weeks before telling Draco. Harry always felt warmth bubbling inside his chest whenever the toddler called him 'mama' or 'mummy'.

Besides, Draco will remember calling Harry that. Harry wondered how the blond would react.

_Smirk. _

"Mama! You not lis'ning to me!"

Harry blinked and looked down at Draco apologetically. "I'm sorry, Draco. Now, which jumper do you want?" Harry got on his knees and pulled out a drawer.

Draco smiled and sat down next to his mum. He leaned against Harry's hips, his cheek pressed on the sweater. He liked how his mummy smelt; there was something that made him think of fluffy things whenever his mama was nearby. Draco giggled when Harry moved to sit as well; he also liked how he could snuggle on his mummy's belly. It was soft and warm, just like a pillow.

Draco never told his mama _that_ of course.

Harry took out a dark crimson wool sweater. Draco scowled and looked away. Harry scoffed and set that aside; he then reached into the drawer and took out an emerald colored jumper, with a golden snitch embroidered on the left side in the chest area.

"How about this one? It's dark green," Harry said, showing the toddler the jumper. Draco peered at it but was still frowning.

"No!"

Harry sighed tiredly. They had been doing this for the past twenty minutes. It was a good thing they were both awake early or else Harry would've been late to class, seeing how things were going.

"Draco… What do you want then? Pick one yourself."

The toddler finally smiled and went on his knees. He peered into the drawer and took out a black jumper.

"I want dis one, mama! It looks the same as your jumpa," Draco said happily and handed the black sweater to Harry.

Potter laughed, finally knowing why Draco had rejected all the other selections.

"Finally! I was getting worried that you're going have to be shivering all through my classes," Harry said, smiling. "Hold up your arms, love."

"Kay!" Draco held up his short arms while Harry carefully pulled the neck of the jumper down the toddler's head. Draco's eyes were still shut tight when his head popped through.

"You don't mind wearing those jeans right?" Harry asked; he chose a pair of dark blue denim jeans before going through the trouble of finding the right jumper.

"Nope! They good," Draco chirped. "Mama wearing da same ding."

Harry smiled and stood up, Draco following right after. The brunet didn't understand why Draco wanted to be dressed exactly the same as he was, but Harry thought it was endearing. The only difference would be that Harry will wear his school robe over his clothes.

Potter picked Draco up and walked over to the window that was by his bed. Green eyes took in the scenery before him; everything was white. Snow had fallen late last night and covered everything in sight. Tree tops were sprinkled with white dust, the once green ground was a blanket of pure soft snow. Harry was pretty sure the Lake was frozen as well.

"Look, Draco, isn't it pretty?" Harry asked; he shifted the small boy so that Draco could see better. Draco squealed and smacked his palms onto the windowpane. Warm puffs of breath fogged up the glass.

"Pwetty! Mama, wat's da stuffs whooshing?"

_Haha, stuff whooshing… _"That's snow, Draco. Snow is very cold to the touch, but can be very fun at the same time," Harry answered. "If you're good, I might take you out on Saturday."

"It's cold?" Draco asked meekly. "Mama, I dunt like cold… Buh I wanna go play on Sat'day."

Harry chuckled. "Mama will keep you warm," he said. "I'm going to teach you how to build a snowman."

"A snow-man?" Draco tilted his head to the side; he was still looking out of the window. "Can I makes you, mummy?"

Harry chortled heartily. "Maybe. We'll see, love." He planted a kiss right on top of Draco's small head.

* * *

"Goodness, Harry, I thought you weren't going to make it in time," Hermione muttered. Harry had just come in with Draco held in his arms. Now, Potter and Malfoy were sitting in the seat next to the witch.

"Ah… Draco was having difficulties choosing a jumper to his liking," Harry whispered. He glanced up briefly to see Snape coming out from his back office. "I finally let him choose and he picked this black one. It's the same as mine, he said."

Hermione giggled. "Oh, that's so adorable. Have you noticed how Draco's wearing things that are similar to yours?"

"Yeah, it's during this past week. Like you told me, he's getting really attached. Do you think it'll change his personality of his real self?" Harry set Draco onto a stool; the toddler immediately grasped the edge of the table, afraid of tumbling off the tall chair.

"I don't know Harry… But if it _does_ happen, what will happen to the real Draco?" Hermione chewed on her lip, looked at the small child between her and Harry, and looked at the brunet. "Things wouldn't be the same, especially since he's going to remember _everything_."

Harry opened his mouth to reply but at the same moment, Snape began barking out instructions to the whole class. He groaned and picked up his school bag, taking out pieces of parchment, a quill, a bottle of ink, and a pencil for Draco. Potter pushed two sheets of parchment in front of Draco and placed the pencil on top of them. Draco clapped his hands together and grabbed the writing tool, or in this case, a drawing tool.

"Be really good alright?" Harry ruffled Draco's downy hair. Draco giggled and nodded, leaning a bit closer to Harry as the teen carded his fingers through Draco's hair.

"I gonna draw a pwetty picture," Draco said. "Are you gonna hang it up, mama?"

"Sure, I'll put it on the wall near my bed."

Harry remembered quite well when Draco drew his first picture during Transfiguration. There were two blobs, one smaller than the other and Harry didn't have to be a genius to figure who the blobs were. One of the blobs had two circles (Harry's glasses) in front with wavy black lines as hair; the other blob had a big happy face on it. Harry snorted when Draco showed him the drawing, but stopped when Draco mistook it as Harry not liking the picture.

Harry had spent almost the whole night trying to make Draco cheerful again. When the brunet suggested putting the drawing on the wall, Draco's whole face lit up. That was why from that day on, Harry would put anything drawn by Draco on his bedroom walls.

"I wants da picture by my bed, mummy," Draco requested sweetly; he even put on a smile for Harry. "Pwetty please!"

Now, how could Harry resist _that_?

He can't.

"Of course, Draco. I'll put it right by your little bed when we get back alright?" Harry moved in and kissed Draco right on his rosy cheek.

Draco giggled and nodded before looking down at the parchment. He picked up the pencil Harry left for him and jabbed the dark tip onto the paper.

With one last look at the toddler, Harry turned away and tried his best to concentrate on the words that were spewing from Snape's mouth.

HPDMHPDM

Draco frowned at the drawing in front of him; it was filled with squiggly black lines, some thick, some thin. Once again, he drew two figures in the middle of the page. But they weren't blobs; they were actually stick figures. Draco's drawing technique had improved and it showed. The shorter stick figure was holding the taller one's hand. Draco smiled as he drew two smaller circles on the figure's face; they were to be his mummy's round glasses. He sniffed; he didn't really like them. The glasses didn't look good on his mummy. But seeing how his mum always had them on, Draco guessed they were important.

On the shorter figure, Draco drew a nest of hair. He wasn't able to draw his hair the exact way it was, so Draco tried his best. It came out messy, with black lines flying in ten different directions. The toddler tilted his head this way and that. It sort of looked like Harry's hair really. Sticking the tip of his tongue out, Draco put the finishing touches into his drawing--more lines and squiggles by the two figures.

It was nearing the end of class and Harry had already finished with his potion of the day. He propped one elbow onto the table and cradled his chin in his hand. Green eyes watched with fascination as his baby scratched out lines with the pencil.

'_At least I don't look like a potato spud anymore… Even Hermione couldn't stop laughing when I showed her.'_

Potter smiled when Draco bent his head down and attempted—attempted was the main word—to draw some clouds. They turned out to be lumpy squares… Harry thought they looked like melting sugar cubes. But he learned his lesson; he wasn't going to snort or laugh while Draco had worked so hard on the picture.

Heck, who was _he _to judge. Harry couldn't draw for all the galleons in the world. The green-eyed teen had a suspicion that the 'real' Draco Malfoy was an artist. Harry knew for sure that when _he_ was three, he didn't know what drawing _was._

"Love, that's beautiful," Harry praised; he actually saw Draco puff up his chest.

Draco stopped drawing his lumpy squares and turned to face Harry. "Weally, mama? You likes?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Draco, I love it."

The Gryffindor was surprised when Draco smiled at him shyly. The blond put his pencil down and started folding the parchment. It was all uneven but neither Draco nor Harry seemed to mind. When the toddler folded his drawing at least four times, he lifted it up and pressed his lips on it. Draco then handed the folded drawing to Harry.

"For you, mummy. With a kissy, too."

Harry vaguely heard Hermione whispering 'That's so cute!' somewhere behind him. Half of the potions class was now looking at him and Draco. Potter looked up and found Pansy grinning; Blaise's shoulders were shaking with soft laughter. He turned back to Draco and took the offered present.

"Why, thank you, love," Harry cooed; he picked the small child up from the stool and planted Draco onto his lap. "Is it my early Christmas present?"

Draco looked up at Harry upside-down; the brunet took this opportunity to plant a small kiss on Draco's nose.

"Chrissy pwesent? No, mama, you says it's not Chrisy-mas yet," Draco smiled, "did you forgots already? You told me da story, mama. Santa come down the chimy and gives me pwesents… If I'm a good boy. Then you says we hafta leave cookies and milk… How come Santa wants dose dings?"

Harry chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around Draco's tummy.

"Well… If we leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on Christmas Eve, he would come down the chimney and leave lots of presents for you. Giving Santa cookies and milk will put you on the 'Good' list. And then…"

As Harry continued to explain to Draco about Santa Claus, the rest of the class was looking at them. Some were smiling, some were whispering things. Not bad things, mind you. The Slytherins appreciated the fact that Harry was really caring for one of their own. They had worried how things would turn out, leaving Draco with the lions. But seeing how Harry and Draco interacted with each other, their worries eased.

The Gryffindors, on the other hand, more or less knew of Harry's feelings. After all, gossips and rumors spread quite easily in their common room. They didn't understand why, at first, Harry did not complain about taking care of the de-aged Malfoy. Some of the lions were actually appalled of what Parvati did; that girl was mad, firing a spell like that at Malfoy. As much as they disliked the blond, turning him into a fetus never crossed their minds. It was just… weird to do so.

Seriously, what was Patil thinking?

"… In the morning you will find loads of presents waiting for you. Sometimes, if you're extra good, Santa will leave more presents." Harry finished; Draco 'ohhed' and snuggled into Harry's body.

"Will Santa give mummy pwesents?" Draco asked, nuzzling his nose into Harry's belly.

"Santa gives everybody presents, even me."

"Dats good… I likes Santa," Draco murmured. "Santa give mummy Chrisy-mas pwesents."

"I bet Santa likes Draco, too."

* * *

**.: Outside, School grounds – 3:19 p.m. :. **

"Mama, dis is squishy…" Draco whined as he tentatively stepped one foot into the freshly fallen snow. The white powder crunched beneath Draco's black boots, making his foot sink at least three inches in.

Harry held Draco's smaller hand tighter. "It's alright, love. I'm holding on to you, no need to be scared." He smiled when the blond took another careful step; Harry had to jerk Draco up when the boy almost slipped.

Biting his lip, Draco slowly walked in front of Harry. "Mummy… I wanna walk by myself." Draco turned around and looked at Harry.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup! I wanna touch the s… s'no."

"Don't go too far," Harry warned and let go of the toddler's hand.

Draco giggled and lifted one booted foot up, stomped down hard (bits of snow flew out from under his boot), and did the same thing with his other foot. It wasn't that bad after all. Just as long Draco stomped hard enough, making his feet sink, he wouldn't slip. Harry stood two feet behind his baby; he was on alert, just in case Draco fell and landed on his bum.

They were prepared for weather like this. Before they came out to the school grounds, Harry and Draco had gone back to their private quarters where Harry did a thorough job of dressing Draco in the warmest clothes. A thick jumper, a fluffy winter jacket, gloves, scarf, beanie, two layers of socks, a pair of corduroy trousers, and finally, the pair of black boots; all of that were donned on Draco. Afterwards, the toddler had trouble walking so Harry took pity and carried Draco in his arms. Now, fifteen minutes later, here they were.

Harry was sort of daydreaming when Draco let out a small cry and slipped. The blond fell on his bottom and sat there, stunned. Harry walked briskly up to the small child and knelt down.

"Draco, are you okay?" Harry asked worriedly; he lifted Draco to a kneeling position and swatted snow from Draco's trousers.

"I okay, mama; no hurts," Draco said; he frowned when Harry continued to look worried. "Mummy, I okay… weally. No worry, mama. S'no is cold but dunt hurt."

"… Alright. Mama's just worried that you hurt yourself," Harry whispered, "it's getting late, Draco. We should go back inside. I promised you we'll play with snow on Saturday."

Still sensing a bit of unease from Harry, Draco smiled and leaned in to kiss the brunet on the lips. He then wrapped his short arms around Potter's neck, snuggling close to his mum. Harry chuckled at Draco's way of reassuring him that he was not hurt.

"Come on, you big lump, time to head back," Harry said cheerfully and stood up, with Draco cradled in the crook of his arms. Potter was making his way back to the castle when Draco sighed tiredly.

"I sleepy, mama…" Draco then yawned, proving to Harry that he was, indeed, tired and sleepy.

Harry peeked at Draco, where the boy already had his eyes closed. The green-eyed teen pulled Draco's beanie lower and covered the back of his head with his hand, shielding Draco from the cold winds.

* * *

"Harry! I was about to go outside to look for you," Hermione said quickly. Harry had barely stepped inside the rooms when Hermione rushed up to him.

"What's wrong? You look anxious," Harry said; he did not raise his voice for Draco was still sleeping soundly.

"A note came for you, but you were still outside with Draco," Hermione explained. "The parchment came by a puff of smoke. Judging from the handwriting, I think it might be from Professor Dumbledore." Hermione then plunged her hand into her jeans, taking out a folded piece of paper. She handed that to Harry who took it and opened it with one hand.

_Harry,_

_Please come by my office whenever you are free. I wish to speak with you._

_A. Dumbledore_

"The Headmaster wants to see me," Harry muttered. "Wants to talk to me."

"Right now?" Hermione asked as Harry tucked the note into his trouser pocket.

"Whenever I have time; I'm free now… but Draco…"

"I'll take him; he's sleeping so it shouldn't be a problem," Hermione offered. "If he does wake up, I'll tell him where you are and that you'll be back soon."

"O… kay. It probably won't take too long. Half an hour tops." Harry carefully put a sleeping Draco into Hermione's arms. "I'll leave right now. Can you put Draco into his bed?"

"Sure, Harry. Tell me what happens alright?"

Harry nodded and headed back out once more.

HPDMHPDM

"Professor, sorry I took so long," Harry said hurriedly; Dumbledore smiled and gestured Harry to sit in one of the wingback chairs. Harry did so. "I-Well, Hermione got the note and handed it to me. You wrote that you want to speak with me?"

"Yes, Harry, I do. I'm afraid there were some things I did not mention the last time we spoke with each other," Dumbledore said softly; his blue eyes were not twinkling like they usually do. Harry was immediately concerned; the last time they spoke, it was about Draco.

"What is it, sir?" Harry asked. "Did you find something about the spell used on Draco? Are there side-effects?" Harry shot out; he was panicking now.

"I'm afraid so, my boy. It concerns your young charge's mental health, Harry."

"… No…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: And I end it RIGHT there! Puwahahahahaha! –cough cough- Apparently, I'm crazy enough to turn Draco into a fetus xP

Thanks for reading! :D


	12. Chapter 12: Mental Breakdown

A/N: Quick update! I have my reason for doing so (getting yelled by reviewers) xD.

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

I have gotten death threats, was called **EVIL**, being pelted by stones, got stalked, etc. So in order to keep my life, I decided to go with my reviewers' wishes: give them the answer, soothe their anxiety. Okay, so maybe I didn't get pelted by stones… or getting death threats… MAYBE I got stalked, who knows? xP

**Cliffhangers, don't you just love them? ;D**

You do NOT want a dead author. Trust me.

**Warning: Short chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_**Mental Breakdown**_

**.: Same day, Dumbledore's office – 3:51 p.m. :.**

"No… No-You… Please, Professor… That is _not_ funny," Harry muttered. He was hoping to see some sort of indication that Dumbledore was just joking around, but all Harry found was worried blue eyes staring right back at him. "Headmaster… You-you're not… Draco's mental… Oh my god." Harry shook his head, placed his elbows on the Headmaster's table and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. "What had Parvati done? Draco…"

"Harry, my boy, listen to me," Dumbledore whispered; all Harry did was shake his head. "Harry, look at me."

Potter took in a long, shaky breath before looking up at the aged wizard before him. Tears were swimming in his eyes, but they did not fall. Harry wanted to cry, to cry for Draco. The blond didn't do anything to Parvati and yet…

"How severe is the problem? Tell me the truth, sir," Harry said without emotion. "I need to know." Even though Harry's voice was void of feeling, his inner emotions were caught in a whirlwind. Everything was in a jumble; everything seemed out of place.

"I am going to be straight to the point," Dumbledore started. "It wasn't that I didn't tell you on purpose, Harry. I was truly concerned about the young man and was worried you would not help to take care of him. It slipped my mind."

Harry stayed quiet; he would not say anything until he heard the answer.

"When I said 'mental health' I did not mean that Mr. Malfoy will suffer from having a mental capacity of a three year old when he's actually twelve. No, none of that."

Harry perked up a little at the Professor's last words. "Then what _do_ you mean, Professor? You made it sound like Draco isn't going to grow up. Mentally speaking."

"If my poorly chosen words made you think that way, I am truly sorry," Dumbledore apologized. "That is not my intention, Harry. However, what I am going to tell you is still discouraging, depending on how you see it."

Harry felt a _bit_ better at those words. For a few frightening minutes, he really thought Draco was going to be childish the rest of his life.

"What is wrong with Draco's mind, sir?"

Dumbledore sighed, looking tired. He reached out to his bowl of lemon drops and took one, removed the wrapper, and popped the sour candy into his mouth.

"I'm afraid Mr. Malfoy will suffer a mild form of confusion and might be withdrawn as he gets older. You might also find Mr. Malfoy to be depressed, not now mind you, but later on. All that will be happening because he would finally understand more of his predicament, or shall I say he will regain his senses.

"Also, I predicted that by the age of ten, or eleven, he will start to remember things as they were when he _was_ eleven. However, Mr. Malfoy will still retain his current memories; all the things you and Draco did together will be remembered. This is where the confusion comes in; he will see things as they are now, and also remember how his first set of memories was."

"He will…? And do you mean when we just started Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, when you just started Hogwarts."

"But… He hated me then, _still_ hates me as a seventeen year old… So he'll go back to hating me when he's aged to eleven." Harry let out a shocked laugh, his eyes wide with disbelieve. "Everything just goes back to the way things were… I should've seen this coming. I knew Draco couldn't stay sweet and innocent."

"Harry…"

"No… I-I know he's… It wouldn't last," Harry murmured; he looked away and stood up from his chair. "If that is all, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "Yes, Harry, that is all. You may return to your rooms."

"Thank you, sir. Have a good evening."

Harry pushed his chair back and pivoted, walking out of Dumbledore's office without looking back once.

* * *

When the front portrait slid open, both Hermione and Ron stood up from the couches. They had been waiting for their best friend to come back. When Ron saw the utter defeated look on Harry's face, he knew something was wrong. Hermione rushed up to the brunet's side and hooked her arm with Harry's. Potter didn't say nor did anything.

"Harry… Harry, say something," Hermione urged; she guided Harry to the couch and sat down, dragging Harry down with her. When Harry failed to say one word, Hermione frowned and looked over to Ron, who was also looking at Harry with concern.

"Mate, what did Professor Dumbledore say?" Ron asked. "Was it about Draco?"

Harry pulled his arm away from Hermione's and looked down, closing his eyes. He nodded feebly and folded his hands on his lap.

"Draco will have problems as he gets older," Harry muttered. "He'll start remembering things from when he was eleven up to seventeen. But he'll also remember the things that happened to him during his de-aged months. So when Draco turns eleven, he'll have his 'old' eleven year old memories, and the ones he had gathered during these few months. Same thing when he turns twelve, thirteen… all the way till he's seventeen. That's what Dumbledore told me anyway."

"Oh no…" Hermione gasped. "He'll treat us like how he did before… But Draco's such a sweet child now… I can't…"

"Believe me, Mione, I don't want it to happen either, but that's how the spell works." Harry looked up and smiled coldly to himself. "Somebody must hate me, making me go through this. But I'm not going to back down from my duty. I'll take care of Draco until he's fully aged."

Ron heard the pained undertone in Harry's voice; he knew this was harsh on his best mate. The redheaded teen vacated his armchair and went to where Harry and Hermione were sitting.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

The cold smile disappeared from Harry's face; he sighed and gave Ron's shoulder a pat.

"Yeah, sure." Harry smiled and turned to Hermione. "Is Draco in bed still?"

"Oh… Yes, he's still sleeping."

"Good. I'll be in my room. Just knock if you need me." Without further explanations, Harry stood up and walked briskly to his room.

The door to the brunet's room clicked shut.

"Oh, Ron… I'm worried about Harry," Hermione whispered. She looked frustrated and worried at the same time. "Why didn't Professor Dumbledore mention this? If he told us before Draco was 'born', Harry might not be so attached to the de-aged Draco, like how he is now."

Ron sat down next to the witch and stared down at the coffee table in front of him. He was worried about Harry as well. This must've been hard on him. With Harry liking Draco and all…

"We can't really do much now, can we? It's not Draco's fault either. He didn't _choose_ to be turned into a fetus; he just happened to be there with us at the wrong time." Ron slid down the couch, his head resting on the back. "I guess all we _can_ do is to make the time last. Especially for Harry… Poor guy."

HPDMHPDM

Harry leaned against the door he had just closed; he took in a shuddering breath and willed himself not to cry. No, he had to be strong. Spilling tears wouldn't solve any problems. He had six years of a hateful Draco Malfoy; he should be used to it by now. But yet… it still hurt. Harry dried his eyes with the back of his hand before walking over to the small cot where Draco lay, sleeping peacefully.

Potter smiled; Draco was sleeping on his side, with his thumb stuck between his cherry lips. Harry gently smoothed the toddler's hair and chuckled lightly when Draco scrunched up his face.

_I need you to be in my arms._

The green-eyed teen stooped low and carefully picked Draco off the bed. He was holding the small child closer to his chest when Draco finally stirred.

_Just once more before you are gone._

"Mama…?" Draco asked sleepily; he blinked and blinked before smiling sweetly at the face above his. "I sleeps…"

"Yes, you can continue sleeping, angel. Mama just wanted to hold you, that's all," Harry said gently. "Go back to sleep, Draco." Harry kissed the toddler on his nose.

_I want to hold you forever. _

"Kay…" Draco yawned and smacked his lips. "I sleep now, mummy. Wake me up when it's dinner."

"Of course…"

_I want to love you._

Harry watched as Draco closed his eyes again; his breathing slowly evened out, indicating that the child was asleep once more. Potter walked over to his own bed and sat down, careful not to jostle the sleeping bundle in his arms.

_But you are leaving me behind._

Draco turned his head towards Harry's chest and sighed; Harry held just a bit tighter.

_All alone…_

And a tear fell.

_Yet, I still don't want to let you go._

* * *

"_Don't hug me, it only makes me want to never let go." – Allison Mosher_

**.: Saturday, December 7, 1997 – 12:10 p.m. two years and eleven months :.**

"S'no, s'no!" Draco sang as he ran around in circles. Harry laughed and stood in one spot, letting the small blond run around his legs. Draco was just so cute at times.

"Draco, you better stop before you get dizzy," Harry warned, smiling. Draco let out a giggle and stopped running by grabbing on to Harry's trouser-clad legs.

"I not dizzy! Mama, play wif me," Draco said, tugging on Harry's hand now. "You pwomised we will make a snow-man."

"I did, didn't I?" Draco nodded to Harry's question. "Well…"

Harry looked around the spot they were at. The snow was fresh and it was plentiful. This was the perfect spot. They were close by the Lake, which had frozen over. There were students ice-skating on it. Harry wouldn't _dare_ to try; he knew he would just fall flat on his arse and that would just be embarrassing. Ron and Hermione had come with them; they were actually skating while Harry and Draco stayed on shore.

"Let's just stay here and make the snowman, alright?"

"Kay, mummy!" Draco chirped. "Buh… How do I makes one?"

Harry got on his knees and motioned for Draco to do the exact same thing. Draco happily complied and knelt down next to his mum. Harry began sweeping in snow into a mound and patted it to make it firm. Draco tilted his head but followed what Harry was doing, albeit his mound was much smaller.

"Very good, Draco! Now, just keep on doing this until you think the ball is big enough."

"How big?"

"As big as you want, love."

Midway, Harry stopped piling snow onto his own mound and sat down to watch his baby. Draco had started humming, in his weird little tunes. Harry caught pieces of lullabies he had sung to the child; Potter was actually a decent singer. Draco was now working on the second ball of the snowman's body. The bottom sphere was about a feet wide and ten inches tall. Harry had a feeling that Draco's snowman was going to be stubby.

"Mama, help me. The s'no is falling down," Draco said, pouting. He then pointed at the crumbling ball.

"You have to pack it real tight," Harry said, slapping some snow onto Draco's snowman. "What do you say to me helping you make the head, Draco?"

"Kay, mummy! Help me makes the head!" Draco grinned and began packing snow between his mitten-covered hands.

So, Harry started helping Draco with making the head. He told the toddler to put snow on top of the ball he had made. Draco did the packing, Harry did the slapping. Once the 'head' was big enough for Draco's stubby snowman, Harry carefully transferred the ball of white to the top. Then they stood up; Harry inspected their handiwork while Draco cheered and started running in circles again. Harry chuckled and magically conjured a carrot; that would be the nose for the short snowman.

"Draco," Harry laughed, "stop running for just a second."

Draco listened and stopped in front of Harry, panting. Harry smiled at the small boy and handed him the carrot. Malfoy took it with both hands and looked at Harry.

"What's da cawwot for, mama?"

"You put that as the snowman's nose," Harry told Draco. "Just put it right in the middle of the top ball, love."

Draco stood on his tiptoes and stretched his arm, placing the small carrot in the middle of the 'face'.

"Now what, mummy? Do we give eyes, too?"

They took several minutes, putting on eyes and a grinning mouth onto the snowman's face. Draco clapped as this was his first snowman. Well, it was his first since his de-aged days. Harry was sure Draco had made snowmen before.

"Look, mama! I makes a snowman!" Draco giggled and turned around to give Harry a hug, a hug around his legs.

Harry chortled and picked Draco up, giving the toddler a proper hug. The blond smiled and nuzzled his face into the crook of Harry's neck, breathing his mummy's scent. Once again, he was reminded of fluffy things. Like a pillow, for instance.

"I love you, mama… Love you lots."

Harry's breath hitched. Oh how it hurts to hear Draco speak those words. If only…

"Mama loves you, too," Harry whispered back. "Love you so, so much." He rubbed his cheek against the top of Draco's head.

_For now, that is enough._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Okay, my shortest chapter yet. I did warn you in the beginning lol. Anyways, I hope this… soothed your anxiety and the want of killing me for having a cliffie in the last chapter xD It might be a while before you see chapter thirteen :x That will be longer, I promise!

Thanks for reading! :D


	13. Chapter 13: Pillow Talk

A/N: Erm. Please forgive me? I know it's been awhile… a _long_ while… But I did say this chapter was going to be a bit long… Yes? D:

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

I've just posted the longest one-shot I've ever written. Of course, it's short compared to some other authors' one shots… but it's the longest I've ever written xD 8000 plus words… haha :D it's a sequel for "Life From the Start". Please check it out if you read that story :)

**I have no warnings for this chapter other than Draco will be four… I skipped a lot haha. **

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_**Pillow Talk**_

**.: Sunday, December 22, 1997 – 7:39 p.m. four years one month :. **

"Are you sure, Harry?" Ron asked for the tenth time that evening. "I'm quite positive that my family wouldn't mind that you bring Draco to the Burrow."

Harry sighed and looked away from his redheaded friend. Draco was sitting in front of the fireplace, playing with his toy car. The dark-haired teen chuckled as Draco made 'vroom-vroom' sounds when he moved the car back and forth in front of his folded legs. Harry wondered if Draco even played with Muggle toys such as a toy car back when he was four, back when he was in Malfoy Manor with his parents. Of course, Harry knew the answer. Lucius Malfoy wouldn't even _think_ of letting his son play with anything _Muggle_.

"I'm sure, Ron…" Harry said after a period of time. "I'm really sorry… but I just don't think Draco will feel comfortable with all those people at the Burrow."

Hermione, who was sitting on the carpeted ground with Draco, looked up at the two teen boys. She was playing with Draco, with a small red car. They were 'racing' each other and of course the witch would let Draco win.

"Harry's got a point, Ronald. Draco will be scared," Hermione added her say. "It's better for them to stay here. The two weeks will pass by…" She smiled lightly at Harry. "I'll miss you guys though."

"Don't be, Miney," Draco piped up for the first time. He had been listening, but thought it was better to keep quiet and let the older teens talk. "Me and mama can write letters! Mummy said we can!" Draco turned bright silver eyes on Harry, who smiled at him. "Right, mama? We can write to Miney and Ron."

Harry nodded yes to the small blond.

After Draco turned three, Harry had wondered if the small boy would be able to tell the difference between a girl and a boy. Potter had thought maybe Draco _could_, but he was just so used to calling Harry 'mama' that Draco didn't bother to change his way of addressing Potter. Harry thought of this possibility because of how Draco acted towards Ron and Hermione.

Before going to bed, Draco had picked up the habit of kissing everybody goodnight. Harry, of course, was kissed no matter what time of day it was, but for the past week Draco had taken up to kissing Hermione goodnight as well. When Harry told Draco to do the same thing for Ron (who had looked mildly disgusted at the idea of being kissed by Draco), Draco pouted and told Harry a firm 'no'. The green-eyed teen was perplexed and asked why. Draco simply told him Ron was "not the same as Miney; Ron's a boy, like me" and chose to hug Ron instead before running off to his bedroom (previously the nursery). Hermione merely giggled at Draco's explanation and Ron looked relieved. Harry, on the other hand, realized on that night that Draco _knew_ the difference between Hermione and Ron, and it was not just because of their looks.

Harry then went into Draco's bedroom, to find the small boy snuggled deep within the fluffy blanket. Grey eyes snapped open and Draco smiled widely at Harry. The brunet had stayed there for maybe twenty minutes, telling and explaining to Draco that grown-up boys should be called 'daddy' or 'papa' instead. Harry had asked Draco if he knew all of that. Draco sniffed and nodded feebly to Harry's question. Potter then went on to ask if Draco knew _he_ was a boy; Draco sniffed louder and nodded yes. Just as Harry was about to ask why he was still being called 'mama', Draco sat up and threw his body at Harry.

"I don't wanna call you daddy or papa!" Draco had cried out. "You're my mummy, my mama… You've taken care of me like a mummy… You love me like a mummy… Can't I just call you that? Please?" Draco looked up at Harry with the most sad-filled eyes the brunet had ever seen.

Harry just melted and held the small child close.

Maybe… Harry was just his 'mama'. From the moment Draco had set his newborn baby blue eyes on Harry, he became his mother. It didn't matter that Harry was a boy; he loved Draco like a mother would. However, his affections went beyond that; Harry liked Draco the teenager as well. But he certainly didn't mind that Draco was calling him 'mama' or 'mummy'.

But was all that going to change? Harry had a feeling that it would. When Draco would become seven or maybe eight, or nine… ten, he might grow out of calling Harry his mum. When that day would finally arrive, Harry knew things between him and Draco wouldn't be the same.

"—ma? Mummy, you been staring at the fire," Draco said; Harry snapped out of his thoughts and put on a smile. Hermione was eyeing him carefully and he chose to ignore it.

"I was just thinking about something," Harry told his baby boy; his eyes darted to Hermione briefly and saw her frowning just a bit. Harry looked away and turned his eyes back on the sitting blond. "You were asking about letters, weren't you?"

Draco beamed and let go of his blue toy car. He got on his feet and ran over to Harry, throwing his body onto Harry's legs once he got there. Harry laughed and put his hands around Draco's body, lifting the small boy up and planted him on his lap. Even though Draco was four, he was still somewhat on the chubby side. Potter had contemplated how that was possible, seeing how the seventeen year old Draco was lean, slightly muscled.

Draco almost purred in content. He curled himself into a ball on his mummy's lap and buried his nose into Harry's jumper. He loved being held by his mama; his mama was always warm and huggable. Always laughing and loving… and soft. Draco always remembered softness whenever Harry held him. His mummy still got this little belly hiding beneath whatever his mummy was wearing that day. Draco remembered bits of memory where he loved pressing his palms into that soft belly. He still liked to do that now. It reminded him of a pillow.

There were times when Draco had his head on mama's lap; his mummy sometimes let him lay there for naps. The first thing he would do was putting his small hand on the belly and curling his fingers around Harry's jumper. Draco didn't know why or how, but he would fall asleep quickly if he did so. One time, he heard his mama snorting above him and mumbled something to 'Miney', who was nearby, about 'too lazy and he likes it' and 'stupid cavings'? Or was it 'cravings'? Draco didn't really hear clearly. Whatever was the case, his mummy never complained or yelled at him for patting the soft belly.

Draco's eyes drooped slightly and Harry chuckled. "Are you tired, love?" He was carding his fingers through Draco's soft blond hair.

Draco shook his head and smiled up at his mummy. His beautiful mummy. Draco always thought his mama was pretty, with those big green eyes. But the round glasses, as his mama had told him when he asked what they were, was ruining things.

"M'not tired, mama…" Draco said softly and cooed when Harry held him closer. "Can we write letters everyday?" Draco tried to make an arch with one arm from his position, but only had enough room to make one-fourth of an arch.

Harry laughed and moved his head back, just in time before Draco's hand smacked him on his chin. Draco giggled and put his waving arm back on Harry's chest.

"You can write letters everyday, as long as Mione and Ron don't mind." Harry took Draco's smaller hand and held it in his; he smiled, eyes crinkling, when Draco automatically curled his fingers, securely holding Harry's hand.

"We don't mind. I would love to receive letters from you, Draco," Hermione said from where she sat. Draco turned his head away from Harry's chest and twisted his neck as far as he could to look at the witch.

"Really, Miney? Well… I'll write you ev'ryday then," Draco said, smiling. "Mama is teaching me how to write my alphy… alby… albatizers…" Draco scrunched up his face, a look of deep concentration surfaced.

Harry laughed outright, so did Ron and Hermione. Not harsh laughter, just soft, playful ones.

"It's alphabets, Draco," Harry told Draco, who was still struggling.

A light bulb, metaphorically speaking, lit up above Draco's head. He smiled and looked up at Harry. "That's right! Mama, you're helping me with my alphabets!"

"Mmhmm… and how do you spell your name, love? Tell Ron and Mione."

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks; they could see how proud Harry was of Draco. They could see it emitting in waves from the green-eyed teen.

The blond boy struggled a bit in Harry's arms; Potter helped Draco out and set the small child upright, making Draco sit on his lap. Malfoy beamed at the other two occupants of the room and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking quite smug. Harry caught Ron and Hermione's eyes and shrugged with a small smile. Draco was Draco.

"I can spell my name! Listen…" Draco took a deep breath. "D-R… Uh… A!" Draco was about to say another letter but he paused. He frowned and tilted his head back to look pleadingly at Harry.

"C comes after A, love," Harry said helpingly.

"Oh yes…" Draco nodded and bounced on Harry's lap. "C-O! Draco! I spelled my name." The small boy wiggled around until he was back snuggling with Harry. "Did I do well, mummy?"

"You did wonderfully, Draco," Hermione praised. "I'm sure I wasn't able to spell my name when I was four."

Draco's giggle was muffled by Harry's jumper. The dark-haired teen smoothed Draco's cheek with his thumb, thinking how soft the toddler's skin was.

"What were we talking about…?" Harry asked softly, his eyes never leaving the small bundle curled on his thighs.

"We were talking about you staying here, mate," Ron said. "Mum's going to ask me why you're staying this year…"

"Just tell Mrs. Weasley that… I'm… I have to take lessons from Snape because I'm suffering in Potions." Harry did a one-shoulder shrug; it wasn't a whole lie. He _really_ wasn't doing that well in Potions.

Ron sighed. "Fine, Harry. I'll tell her that."

"Sorry… I just really don't want Draco to be scared, with all of us there…" Harry trailed off; Draco actually fell asleep. Harry smiled. Draco's hand was fisted around his jumper, right where his stomach was.

_One of these days, _Harry vowed, _I am getting my abs back… _

* * *

**.: Tuesday, December 24, 1997 – 5:04 p.m. four years three months :. **

It was only the second day without Hermione and Ron in the private rooms with them and Draco was restless. He had reached the age where he had to be _doing_ something. Harry tried his best to fulfill Draco's wishes, but boy, was he _glad_ they were back inside the rooms. Today, they had spent the entire day outdoors…

It was like this…

**.: Outdoors, at the Lake – 10:11 a.m. :.**

The very first thing Harry did was to brave the frozen Lake. This did not go well. With Draco laughing everytime Harry landed on his arse, Potter was glad he only fell five times… or maybe ten. It wasn't that Draco did any better; the blond fell on his bum multiple times, probably as much as Harry. After ice skating for about an hour, Harry and Draco had a one-on-one snowball fight.

Harry won of course. With style.

**.: At Hogsmeade – 11:03 a.m. :. **

After uncovering Draco from all the snow Harry had thrown, he took Draco to Hogsmeade. They were free to go to the village during the Christmas holidays. First, they went into Honeyduke's; Draco practically dragged Harry through the door after seeing all the confections in different colors, shapes, and sizes. Draco was drooling when Harry took him through each aisle. After much pleading and begging, Harry finally relented and bought Draco a bag of candies and chocolates. As they walked out from the candy store, Draco strictly said, in his boyishly demanding voice, that the bag of candies was not to be his Christmas present.

Slytherin to the core.

After their visit at Honeyduke's, Harry took Draco all over the village. Draco was excited as Harry; he was happily munching on some jellybeans while they walked.

Draco didn't mind walking around in the cold, with wind whipping across his flushed cheeks. He didn't care that his mama didn't carry him even when his legs were beginning to tire. No, Draco didn't mind any of those things during their trip. All he cared about was being with his mummy. At one point, Draco passed by a brightly lit store; grey eyes looked through the frosted glass windows and Draco saw a huge variety of sparkly stones on pretty silver chains. He stopped eating his candies and toddled up to the windows and pressed his face on the glass. A smile began to form as he looked at the sparkling items displayed in the shelves. Draco's eyes landed on one particular sparkly stone.

Deep down, Draco knew he couldn't just take the pretty stone from the store. It was bad to do so and he was sure his mummy would disapprove. He burned the picture of how the stone looked like in his head for future reference. Maybe one day, he'll come back and get it for his mummy. His mummy was worth more than one stone; if he could, Draco would give his mama tons of pretty things.

Draco sighed sadly and forced himself away from the window. He looked around and found his mama standing in front of a store across the street. Draco then ran to the brunet, with the image of the necklace firmly in his mind.

HPDMHPDM

Harry had waited patiently for Draco. He saw the blond stopping by the jewelry store but did not bother to tell Draco to follow him. Harry let Draco look at the necklaces and bracelets. It wasn't a mystery on why Draco stopped by the store. He was four and sparkling things attract young children.

When the small blond finally pushed himself away from the window and turned around, Harry smiled and waved him over. It was time for them to have lunch.

**.: At The Three Broomsticks – 1:02 p.m. :. **

"Mama, I miss Miney and Ron," Draco whined, "and when are we going to send my letter? And, and our presents for them? When am I getting my present?" He then looked down and fished around his plastic bag filled with chocolates.

"We'll send your letter when we get back," Harry answered; he frowned and gently took the bag of candies away from Draco's greedy hands. "No more eating sweet stuff, love. Our lunch will arrive soon."

"Aww… But…" Draco stopped whining when Harry sent him a stern look. "Okay, mummy… I'll stop."

Ten minutes later, Draco's lunch came. Harry ordered a hamburger with a side of chips, along with a tall glass of pumpkin juice for Draco, while he settled with a cheese and mushroom soufflé. Draco eyed the hamburger with interest; he never had such a thing before, not even when they were back at Hogwarts. When the small boy picked up the burger with both hands, Harry chuckled. The bun was almost as big as Draco's face. Malfoy sniffed when he couldn't open his mouth wide enough to bite into the juicy hamburger.

"Mama! It's too big," Draco complained. "I'm hungry… but I can't bite into it…" Draco looked utterly dejected.

Harry smirked and took his utensils; he sliced the burger right in the middle and then cut those halves into halves. After he was done, Draco's hamburger turned into quarters.

"There. You can bite into them now," Harry said; he turned to his soufflé and dug in.

Draco took one of the quarters and squished the buns to the meat. He licked his lips, opened his mouth, and was about to take a bite when he saw from his peripheral vision the way his mummy was eating. Steam wafted upwards from a hole his mummy made in the soufflé; Draco caught the smell of melted cheese and mushrooms blended together. Then he heard a soft moan from his mama. Draco blinked a couple of times and nibbled on his hamburger piece.

He wanted a taste… it seemed way better than his burger.

Draco inched closer to Harry; they were sitting on a small bench, which made sliding easy. He took another bite of his burger; Draco could really smell his mummy's soufflé now.

Harry was taking another forkful of the cheesy goodness and flaky crust when he saw the top of a blond head edging closer to his arm. He looked to the side, only to find Draco staring back up at him.

"Draco, why aren't you eating your food?" Harry nodded his head at the piece Draco was holding.

Draco frowned and popped the remainder of the piece of his burger into his mouth. He chewed viciously; swallowed with a small gulp and wiggled over closer to Harry's side.

"I-I… it smells good… Can I have some?" Draco pleaded; he turned round eyes at Harry. "Just one bite? Please?" Draco even went as far as batting his eyelashes.

"What? Why? What about—" Draco's lips trembled and Harry sighed explosively.

_Is that how he gets his way? It sure is working…_

"Alright. Come here." Harry put his fork down and pulled Draco onto his lap. The brat, Harry thought affectionately, giggled merrily and made himself comfortable. "Do you want to help yourself?"

"No, mummy; you feed me." Draco inched closer to the table and waited.

Harry smiled. _So adorable… Well, it doesn't hurt to feed him._

As he fed Draco, Harry began reminiscing about the time when the blond was just a newborn baby and he had to hand-feed Draco. Had Draco really been under his care for only two months? Harry shook his head and fed his baby a fork of soufflé. Draco hummed in delight and savored the flavors of mushroom and melted cheese on his tongue. In the end, Draco ate more than just one bite; Harry shared half of the soufflé with the toddler.

And Draco's hamburger was forgotten.

* * *

**.: Mindless wandering – 4:31 p.m. :. **

"Draco, you've been bumping into my legs for the past ten minutes. Are you tired?" Harry asked, looking down at the semi-conscious Draco walking beside him.

Draco reached up and tugged his beanie down over his forehead. He _was_ sleepy… but at the same time, he didn't want to go back yet. Draco stumbled closer to his mummy and took Harry's hand. He vaguely heard his mummy sigh and before he knew what happened, Draco was being picked up and held. Draco smiled sleepily and laid his head on Harry's shoulder.

"Sleep, love. We'll head back to Hogwarts now."

"Mm… Today was fun, mummy… I like going out with you," Draco whispered against Harry's jacket. "Can we do this everyday?"

Harry chuckled and rubbed Draco's back. "Maybe, but I'm sure you don't want to be outside tomorrow, do you? It's Christmas."

Draco perked up at the word. All his sleepiness was forgotten. He jerked his head up so fast that Harry barely had enough time to avoid the collision.

"Mama! Did you get my present? How come I don't know about it? Oh no! We didn't get cookies for Santa! Should we give Santa chocolate milk, mama? And…"

Draco continued his chatter as Harry listened along. He was genuinely happy that Draco was so excited. Good thing he got the blond's present two weeks ago. It wasn't that hard; he used a catalogue. All he needed to do was find what he wanted, filled out a form, and sent it by owl. Easy as pie. The present came just three days later, all wrapped up in Christmas wrappers. Harry hoped Draco would like his present. He never shopped for a Malfoy before, and Merlin knew Draco had high tastes.

The last thing that came from Draco's mouth before the portrait to their rooms closed had been the question of what he should get for his mummy.

Harry smiled to himself. He got the best gift already.

His time with Draco was priceless.

* * *

**.: Tuesday, December 24, 1997. Christmas Eve – 11:53 p.m. :. **

Thirty minutes ago, Harry was finally able to put Draco into bed. Draco had wanted to stay up all night, so that he could see Santa with his own eyes. But he fell asleep in Harry's arms anyway.

Twenty minutes ago, Harry waited until the blond was fully asleep so that he could put the presents under their small, but beautifully decorated, Christmas tree. Potter drank the chocolate milk he and Draco made and ate one of the cookies. This way, Draco would be convinced Santa did come during the night.

Fifteen minutes ago, Harry finally had the time to send his letters to Hermione and Ron; Draco had bothered him all night about it. The dark-haired teen chuckled when he folded Draco's letter before stuffing it into an envelope. There weren't many words; Draco wasn't completely familiar with the alphabets yet, and spelling was another matter. There was, however, a crude drawing of their Christmas tree beneath his three sentences.

Five minutes ago, Harry settled down for the night. He could hear the sound of whipping winds outside. The moon was hidden tonight; grey clouds covered the ink black sky. After punching his pillows a few times, Harry closed his eyes and was about to drift off…

"Mummy…?"

Harry never closed his bedroom door. After Draco was old enough to sleep in his own room, Harry kept his door opened, just in case something was wrong.

"Mama? Are you sleeping?" Draco whispered softly. This time, Harry heard the soft padding of feet on the carpet.

Harry rolled onto his back and lifted his head up; he squinted in the dark and saw Draco's form moving towards his bed.

"Draco? What's wrong?" Harry took his glasses from the bedside table and placed them on. Draco came into focus and he sat up in bed.

"Nothing, mama… I just… Can I sleep with you? I want to be close to the living room… Maybe I'll hear Santa." Draco didn't wait for Harry to answer; he came up to Harry and tucked himself under the blanket.

Harry moved over and lay back down again, this time on his side so that he could face the small boy. Draco was hugging a small teddy to his chest, his huge grey eyes staring intently at Harry.

"Draco, you can't stay awake the whole night. Remember what I told you earlier? Santa only comes when all the little boys and girls are sleeping. He won't come if you are wide awake," Harry told Draco.

The young boy gasped, his eyes getting rounder. "No! I-I… I want Santa to come, mummy… 'Member you said I can make wishes and Santa can hear?"

Harry smiled and pulled his blanket higher, covering the both of them. "Of course I do. Did you make a wish?"

"Yeah… I wished that Santa will give mummy a huge present 'cause mummy should get presents, too." Draco snuggled more into the pillowed and wiggled closer to Harry's warm body. "I'll be a good boy now and sleep… Don't want Santa to be mad at me."

Harry watched the sleeping Draco; the smile never leaving his face. He kissed Draco's brows and chuckled; Draco had wormed his hand onto Harry's chest, his tiny fist curled around his pajamas. Potter sighed softly and wrapped his arm around the small body, pulling Draco closer. He took off his glasses and carelessly tossed them onto the bedside table.

"My present came early this year," Harry said to himself. "It's already in my arms."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Chapter 13!! Huzzah! :D Yes, this chapter was… pure fluff. Warm and fuzzy feeling P WAFF! xD But who cares! Draco and Harry are fluffy together! ;) You should know I don't write angsty stuff much… hehehe.

Thanks for reading! :D


	14. Chapter 14: Peek a Boo, I See You

A/N: I'm trying my best to update as much as I can. The chapters might seem a bit rough, so don't be surprised if I misspelled something xD However, I DO read over what I type… I'll try to keep the mistake counts low :P

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

I shall hand out chocolate chip cookies for those that review :D

**Warning: Cuteness. Innocence. Voyeurism LOL.**

**Chapter 14**

_**Peek-a-boo, I see you**_

**.: Thursday, January 2, 1998 – 8:21 p.m. five years old :.**

"Mum, are Miney and Ron coming back tomorrow?" Draco asked. Harry hummed; he was sitting outside of the bathtub, washing Draco's hair. "It's been so long!" He then squeezed his eyes shut when Harry put the showerhead above Draco and sprayed away the soap suds.

As Harry rinsed the blond mop of hair, Draco bent his head down and let his mum take care of him.

"You just want somebody to play with," Harry chuckled, "am I not enough? I played with you for the past two weeks. But to answer your question: Yes, they are coming back tomorrow. School starts on Monday." Harry carded his fingers through the silky soft hair; Draco giggled.

"I want to show them my new toys! Especially the snitch you gave me, mama. I like Miney and Ron's presents, but I love yours the most, mummy."

Harry smiled and turned off the water. He lowered the showerhead and let it drop into the tub. It was really no surprise that the snitch became Draco's favorite toy. Harry had given the blond two presents, an art set and the golden snitch with 'Draco' etched onto the front. Potter _almost_ had Draco's full name engraved, but remembered that he had sort of made the young boy believe that 'Malfoy' was another person.

Draco was ecstatic when he saw the art set. So enthusiastic was he that Draco drew something for Harry in the very same day, and Harry remembered to put that on his bedroom wall. When the blond opened the smaller present, he was confused why his mummy gave him a shiny ball. He looked at Harry confusedly and tipped the box, letting the snitch roll out into his hand.

"Mama, what is this?" Draco had asked. "Does this bounce like my other balls?" Draco looked into his hand, the snitch tilting this way and that. His eyes widened when he saw his name engraved into the golden ball. "Mummy! That's my name! It has my name on it!"

Harry then explained to the young boy what the ball was. Potter told Draco that in order to activate it he must wrap his hand around the whole sphere, squeeze it for three seconds, and then slowly open his hand. Draco did exactly what his mummy told him to do and to his complete amazement, the golden ball shook and a pair of delicate wings appeared. Draco squealed and giggled when the snitch took flight, zooming away from Draco's hand.

"Look, mama! It's flying!" Draco laughed and started running around the living room, trying to catch the zipping snitch.

Harry then sat back into the couch and watched his baby, yes his baby, run around happily. Since the snitch was just a toy and not the real professional one, it did not fly as fast or as high, but it was still a few inches away from Draco's outstretched hands. If Draco really wanted to catch it, he would have to jump quite a bit.

Now, a week later, Draco _still_ wasn't tired of the small golden ball. It remained his favorite toy and often would ask Harry to play catch with him. Of course, Harry would let the boy win.

"Alright, love, you're all clean. Climb out and let me dry you," Harry told the slightly shivering Draco.

Harry got off his knees and went to retrieve a white towel so that he could dry Draco's body. The blond stepped out from the bath tub and stood on the floor mat, waiting patiently for his mummy to dry him. Draco sniffed and wrapped his arms around his tummy; it was sort of cold, even after a warm bath.

"Mama… I-I'm getting cold…" Draco said; he sniffled again for good measure. He really wanted his mummy to wrap him up, dress him, and then they could snuggle together once they're out of the bathroom.

Harry turned around and knelt down again; he frowned when he saw Draco shivering. His nose was getting red, too. Harry didn't want his baby to be sick.

"We'll have a nice cup of hot chocolate later, alright?" Harry began toweling Draco; he brought the small body closer to himself so that Draco could be a bit warmer.

When Harry was done drying Draco's hair, he started drying the back. Draco sighed and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist. His mummy was so warm.

"I want baby marshmallows in my cup." Draco's voice was muffled by Harry's jumper. "And then I want mummy to play with me. Okay?" Harry chuckled, the soft rumbling in his chest reaching Draco's ears.

"Whatever you want, love."

.:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:.

**.: Playing – 9:20 p.m. :. **

"I'll get you, snitch!"

Draco let out a small war cry and jumped; his fingers _barely _grazed the gold ball. Draco 'humphed' and chased after his toy when the snitched flew lazily above Draco's head and around the living room. Harry snorted, his green eyes glowing with mirth. He brought his cup of hot chocolate to his lips, hiding the smile that was threatening to appear on his face.

It wasn't that he was making fun of Draco. It was because the way the small boy hopped around, arms stretched out and waving, was adorable. Harry was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, surveying all from where he sat. Just like everytime Draco was playing with the snitch, Harry had cast Cushioning Charms on the furniture. It happened more than once where Draco bumped into a table leg or a corner of the coffee table.

When Harry set his cup down again, Draco already made one full circle around the living room. He was panting, glaring balefully at the floating snitch, which was a foot above his head. Harry shook his head with a smile; Draco now had his hands on his hips, scowling.

"Mum! The snitch is not being nice! It's too high and I'm getting tired," Draco complained.

Harry waved Draco over; the blond toddled over to his mummy and sat down on Harry's lap. Potter gave him his cup of hot chocolate. Draco sipped the sweet drink and sighed; he then rested his head on Harry's chest. The green-eyed teen held out his free hand and Summoned the snitch to him. When the ball landed in his palm, Harry closed his fist around it, deactivating the snitch. Harry handed the 'sleeping' snitch to Draco; the boy took it with a smile.

"Remember to put it back inside the box, okay? Last time you almost lost it and it took you two hours, only to find it under the couch." Harry looked to his right, where a clock was, and saw that it was almost nine-thirty. "Finish your drink, Draco, and then go brush your teeth and head to bed."

Draco nodded; he was knackered, after chasing the snitch around. He finished his hot chocolate and put his cup on the coffee table.

"Goodnight, mama…" Draco said and scrambled out of Harry's lap. Potter opened his arms and Draco went into the embrace, nuzzling into Harry's neck.

"Goodnight, Draco," Harry whispered and kissed his baby's soft cheeks. Draco giggled and wiggled away from his mama's hug. Harry swatted Draco's bum playfully. "Now go brush your teeth, young man."

Draco grinned and ran to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

.:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:.

**.: Saturday, January 4, 1998 – 9:51 a.m. five years two months old :.**

When Draco stumbled out from his room sleepily this Saturday morning, he was surprised to see that his mummy wasn't among Hermione and Ron. Hermione was sitting on the couch, reading a book, and Ron was sitting at the kitchen table, still working his way through his breakfast. Saturdays were lazy; all of the occupants of the room woke up late. Draco was a tad worried. Where was his mummy? His mama was usually awake before him.

"Miney…?"

Hermione looked up from her book and smiled at the small boy. "Good morning, Draco. I see that you finally woke up."

"Mornin'… Miney, where's mama?" Draco asked; he yawned and covered his mouth his hand.

Hermione placed the book next to her on the couch. "I heard the water running not too long ago. I think Harry's in the bathroom."

Draco frowned and scratched the top of his head, making his hair messier. "I didn't… I'm gonna go check right now. I want to eat breakfast with my mummy." Draco beamed and spun on the balls of his feet, heading towards the bathroom.

"Knock first, Draco!" Hermione called; she shook her head and picked up her book again.

"What's the point in knocking?" Ron said from the kitchen. Hermione turned and looked at Ron with an arched eyebrow. "Harry always locks the door. I remember one time when we were second years… I wanted to play a joke on him by barging into the bathroom… I couldn't get in." Ron then had a pained look on his face. "It's stupid how I didn't think of using _Alohomora_ back then."

"It's a good thing you didn't," Hermione said indignantly. "I'm sure Harry wouldn't like you charging in while he's taking a shower or bath."

"We're both guys…"

"It doesn't matter, Ron! It's rude."

Ron rolled his eyes and continued with his breakfast.

HPDMHPDM

Draco had his mind set on finding his mummy and never heard when Hermione yelled out 'knock first'. He stopped in front of the bathroom door and twisted the door knob; the door gave way and Draco stepped inside.

It was quiet, but Draco could feel the warmth of the hot water that was used not too long ago. All Draco saw were a foggy mirror and some wrinkled clothes hanging out of the hamper. A towel was missing so Hermione was correct about Harry taking a shower. Draco pouted and left the bathroom.

"Mummy?"

Draco padded towards Harry's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, to Draco's delight. The blond boy quickened his pace, stopped for one second before the door, and pushed inside.

HPDMHPDM

Harry had wanted to check if Draco was still sleeping when he got out from the bathroom. However, once he was outside, he heard Draco's voice, asking Hermione where he was. Harry grinned and went to his room so that he could change and be with his little man.

The green eyed teen was now bent over, searching through his drawers for some warm clothing. January had always been the coldest month during the school year.

Harry never heard the small footsteps behind him.

HPDMHPDM

The first thing Draco saw was his mummy's towel-clad bottom. Draco smirked and tiptoed quietly over to where his mum was looking through the drawers for clothes. He was as quiet as a mouse. Even his breathing was slow and even.

The first thought that came to Draco's mind was to scare Harry.

Hey, it didn't matter if his mummy was half naked, with the towel on the verge of slipping off his bum.

Draco reached out. All he wanted was to give his mama a pat on his back and shout "Boo". He wanted to giggle; his mum _still_ hadn't noticed he was inside the room! Draco was proud that he could be very silent when he wanted to be. Then, Draco stopped about three feet behind Harry. He tilted his head and stared at the white towel wrapped around his mummy's bum.

_Mama's gonna catch the sniffles… All he has on is the towel!_

It would be just terrible if his mummy became sick.

"Mama, why aren't you wearing your jumper?!" Draco shouted suddenly; Harry squeaked and straightened himself, spun around and stared down at the small boy.

His heart was beating a hundred times a minute.

"Draco! W-what… When did you come inside? Oh for Merlin's sake…" Harry stuttered. He brought the wool sweater he chose up to his chest, trying to cover his naked upper torso. His grip on his towel became just a bit tighter.

It certainly wouldn't do well if it fell down.

"Why are you covering yourself, mama? You'll get the sniffles! And then your nose will be all runny… Mama, are you listening?" Draco asked when all Harry did was staring with his mouth opened. "Don't use the jumper to cover." Draco looked away from Harry's chest and down to his hips. "And you need trousers!" Draco emphasized the fact by pointing at Harry's crotch.

By this time, Harry was feeling very hot. There Draco was, staring at him with innocence, telling him what to do, and pointing straight at his crotch.

If Harry wasn't feeling so embarrassed, he would've laughed.

"Draco… Mama can't dress if you're staring at me," Harry said after getting his nerves back. "Why don't you go back outside and wait? Then we can have breakfast together."

"Why? You're always there when _I _dress," Draco reasoned, not knowing why Harry wanted him out. "You see me naked all the time." Draco pouted and crossed his arms. "It's the same thing."

_Yes, I see you naked all the time _now_, but I would probably burst a vein if I saw you naked as a _teen_. _Harry thought; he mentally rolled his eyes.

"No, it's not," Harry said patiently after he was done with his thoughts. "You're a little boy and I'm… a bigger boy." When Draco's lips started trembling, Harry knelt down in front of him, mindful of his towel. "Little boys do not look at grown-ups when they dress. It's not polite." Draco opened his mouth to retort but Harry placed his fingertip on his lips. "I'm there when you are dressing because you need help sometimes. Mama's there when you need help, right?"

Draco nodded his head begrudgingly. "Yes, mama, you help me when I need it." Draco then reached out and touched the sweater Harry was holding with one hand. "I think I know now… I don't want to be rude to you, mummy. Draco will be good…" He smiled softly and leaned in to give Harry a kiss on the lips. "I'll wait for you outside, mama."

Harry ruffled Draco's hair, eliciting a giggle from the boy. "Go on, love. I'll be outside shortly."

Draco beamed and skipped away, leaving Harry alone to dress.

_Wow… that was close._

"He would've gotten an eyeful… and he would start asking _questions,_" Harry muttered to himself. He stood up and finally dressed for the day.

.:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:.

"Draco? I thought you were looking for you mum. Where's Harry?" Hermione had caught sight of the slightly confused looking Draco as the blond walked into the living room.

Draco turned his head slightly and frowned at the witch. "Mummy's dressing… I found him almost naked."

"WHAT?!" Both Hermione and Ron exclaimed at the same time.

Draco blushed when the older teens gawked at him. That didn't come out right.

"Mummy had a towel on… I think I scared him when I screamed out… and mama used his jumper to cover himself," Draco said, fixing his mistake in saying Harry was _almost_ naked. "Mama told me to wait outside because it's rude to be there when a big boy is dressing." Draco recited exactly what his mummy told him earlier.

"Draco," Hermione sighed, "I told you to knock before going in."

"I didn't hear you say that!" Draco grouched. Ron looked amused.

"Harry didn't lock the bathroom door?"

Draco shook his head at the redhead. "Mama was in the bedroom. The door was open. And I didn't mean to make mummy think I was being rude—"

"You weren't being rude, love." Harry's voice floated out. A second later, the brunet appeared dressed in a dark blue jumper, a pair of black trousers, and white socks. Draco's whole face lit up, all the gloom gone, and ran to his mum.

"Mum, you're dressed! I'm hungry! Let's have breakfast," Draco urged; he took Harry by the hand and dragged the green-eyed teen to the kitchen. "I think it's almost lunch time… Miney and Ron ate breakfast ages ago." Draco made a wide gesture with his free arm. "You take too long, mama."

Harry laughed and let himself be pulled along.

.:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:.

**.: Tuesday, January 7, 1998 – 11:43 a.m. five years five months old :. **

"Mama, promise you'll be careful," Draco whispered worriedly into Harry's ears. "I don't want you to get hurt again, like last time."

Harry smiled and kissed Draco's temple. "I wasn't hurt. My robe was smoking, that's all."

"Yeah… but still…" Draco looked at his mum unhappily.

Harry had Draco in his arms, standing in his DADA classroom. It was one of those days where the students had to practice firing defensive spells at his or her partner. Once again, Harry had to leave Draco at the side. When the blond leaned in, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck, the brunet began rubbing Draco's small back. He knew Draco was worried, just like all the other times when he had to watch Harry from the sidelines.

"I promise that I'll be really careful, alright?" Harry bounced the worried child. Draco giggled and nodded against the side of Potter's neck.

"One day, I'll protect mama myself," Draco vowed. "I'll use my magic and protect mummy from bad hexes."

"My little hero," Harry gushed; Draco pulled away from Harry's shoulder and beamed at the brunet. He leaned in and kissed Harry's cheek.

Harry had noticed that Draco's been doing that a lot lately. Kissing. Whenever Draco had the chance, the boy would land a kiss on Harry's cheek, chin, nose, and last but not least, his lips. Harry had tried so hard to not think of the kisses as intimate but innocent ones. Like how a son would give his mother kisses. But everytime Draco gave him innocent kisses his mind would play tricks on him. Instead of looking at a five-year-old, Harry would see the face of the seventeen-year-old Draco. Then, Harry would promptly blush.

He gave up on thinking too hard now. Harry always felt warm and fluffy inside his chest when Draco kissed him. It wasn't like the normal Draco would do such an outrageous thing to him.

Nope. Never.

"I'll be watching you, mummy," Draco said in a singsong tone. Harry glanced down into liquid mercury eyes and smiled.

"I can always count on you to save me, can't I?" Harry asked. Draco nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course!"

Harry chuckled and set the blond down on the ground. Draco gave Harry one last hug around his legs before going to the side of the huge classroom. When Draco sat down in a chair, which had become _his_ chair ever since Draco had been to class with Harry, the blond waved at Harry. Potter waved back before going over to Ron.

HPDMHPDM

"Mama! You know how Ron fired that blue light at you? It was like… ZAP! And then you stepped to the side… I knew Ron couldn't hit you, mummy. Then you did the swish and flick, and Ron's wand went flying!"

Draco was walking beside the green-eyed teen, all the while making exaggerated gestures with his hands as he talked. There was a sparkle in those silver eyes.

"But… after Ron got his wand back, he almost hit you with another spell! I was chewing my nails…" Draco tugged at Harry's hand and made the brunet look down. He then waved his fingers for Harry to see. "I wanted to run up to you because I promised I would protect you, mama… but then I thought that you will be mad at me. You always told me to stay in my chair and never run anywhere. I listened to you, mummy."

"It's a good thing you did, Draco. I would be worried rather than upset though," Harry said; he bent down and scooped the child up. Tapping Draco's nose, Harry mock pouted. "If you got hurt, mama would be really upset."

"Never!" Draco cried. He then buried his face into Harry's neck. "I like it better when you laugh, mama… I don't like seeing you sad."

"I can say the same thing for you, love."

"Do I make you smile everyday, mummy?"

"Yes, you make my days bright, Draco."

"That's good. I love you, mum. Do you love me?"

"Of course I do, silly. My love for you is boundless."

"What does that mean?" Draco asked.

"It means my love have no end… It goes on."

"Even if I did something bad and made you mad?"

"Even then."

Draco giggled.

"Well… then my love for you is boundless, too, mama."

_If only you would say that when you're back to normal again…_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: -picks out fluff from my frizzy hair- As I promised, I will be giving out chocolate chip cookies. Store-brought ones :P Cuz I don't know how to bake lol.

Darn it, the dividing line doesn't show up! NOOOO! I'm sorry if the my line of _zeros_ looked a bit odd ;x

Thanks for reading! :D


	15. Chapter 15: With Love, From Draco

A/N: Why hello again. I hope that this chapter is a bit faster than last time… Maybe I should make more cookies :D

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

Okay, you'll get a cookie AND a life-size Draco doll!! ;D You can do whatever you want with it. Even all the naughty stuff that goes on in your heads ;-) Hm, I want a Harry doll, too.

**Warning: Warm and Fuzzy feeling. Draco Malfoy's ill-temper surfacing. VALENTINE'S DAY! That shouldn't even **_**be**_** a warning lol.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_**With Love, From Draco**_

**.: Saturday, February 14, 1998 – 8:18 a.m. eight years and seven months :.**

Harry rolled his eyes as another owl flew into the Great Hall, dropping a reddish looking present in front of a sixth year Hufflepuff. Today was the day of _love_. It was the day where one shows another how much they love their other half. Today was a day all about chocolates in the shape of hearts, bunches of roses, and cards filled with sappy words and confetti when opened.

Today was Valentine's Day.

Harry grumbled under his breath and shoved a fork of eggs into his mouth. He hated Valentine's. Girls from all four Houses, yes even Slytherins—though they were anonymous—would send him cards and flowers, sometimes even chocolate filled with love potions. The green-eyed teen almost yelled out loud when a cream-colored envelope appeared on his lap. Harry grabbed the envelope and stuffed it into his jeans, never looking at the name of the person that sent it.

It would've been better if Harry had stayed inside the private rooms for breakfast… But _nooo_, the other three had wanted to eat in the Great Hall.

_I was totally outnumbered, especially when Draco gave me the 'puppy' look._ Harry thought tetchily.

Draco was happily eating his pancakes on this fine Saturday morning. He was amazed when a flock of owls flew in and dropped packages in pink, white, and red onto students' plates. He then asked his mum what day it was and his mum answered—grumpily—that it was Valentine's Day.

Draco didn't really understand what Valentine's was so he asked Hermione. The girl patiently explained to him that it was a day to show someone you loved them. Draco's grey eyes lit up. Today was a day to show his mummy how much he loved him!

"Miney, what do you give to the person you love?" Draco had asked. Hermione smiled and leaned forward—she was sitting across from Draco and Harry.

"Well, whatever you think the person would like. But the most important thing is that the gift is from _your_ heart. You can give someone flowers, chocolate, jewelry… anything really." Hermione then cocked her head to the side and smiled snidely at the boy. "Why are you asking, Draco? Is there someone you fancy?"

Draco was drinking his pumpkin juice and choked. He coughed and set his goblet down. Draco glared halfheartedly at the witch.

"I'm just curious! Mama said it's okay to ask questions when I don't understand something," Draco declared. He turned to look at Harry, but his mama was stuffing an envelope into his jeans.

Draco frowned at the scowl on his mum's face. His mama had been very quiet this morning. Draco had noticed random puffs of smoke appearing around his mum. Everytime there was smoke, an envelope or a rose would appear. But his mama never smiled when he received those things. All he did was frown and stuffed envelopes into his pockets and left the flowers on the table. If what Miney said was true… then there must be lots of people that liked his mama. Draco grumbled angrily; his mama didn't need all the others. All Harry needed was Draco. The blond nodded to himself and promised to make things right.

Looking at the brunet one last time, Draco scooted away from his mummy. He reached out and patted Hermione's hand, getting the girl's attention.

"Miney… Can you take me out to Hogsmeade right after breakfast?" Draco asked meekly. Hermione arched an eyebrow at the small blond.

"And why do you want me to take you?" Hermione asked, smiling. She had a hunch to why Draco asked her instead of Harry. The boy probably wanted to get something for Harry.

Her intuition was correct when Draco darted his eyes at Harry for a second.

"Erm… I-I uh… I want you to help me pick something…"

"Is it for Harry?" Hermione had a gleam in her eyes that Draco couldn't figure out.

Draco scowled at the witch and forcefully said, "Shhhh!" When Hermione merely smirked at him, Draco sighed wearily and nodded. "I want to show mummy that I love him… I want my love to be known, too!" Draco looked down at his plate. "Did you see how many flowers mama got? And all those letters? I only want mama to love me…"

Hermione's teasing demeanor vanished when she saw how Draco was. The boy was truly saddened by all the other gifts Harry received, even though the brunet never looked at the letters, not even once.

"Alright, Draco, I'll take you to Hogsmeade," Hermione said gently. Draco's head snapped up and he smiled at her. She chuckled softly when Draco looked ready to bounce in his seat with happiness. "We have to tell your mum though. We can't just go without him knowing."

"Oh, that's alright. Just as long mama isn't there when I pick—"

"When you pick what, Draco?"

Draco stopped talking at once and gulped. He slowly turned to his left and was faced with Harry looking at him with a small smile. How much had his mummy heard of his conversation with Miney?!

"Ah… Erm… When… When I pick some candies at Honeyduke's…" Draco was flustered. Hermione hid her giggle behind her hand. The blond brushed his fringe away from his eyes, a sign of nervousness. "I asked Miney to take me to Hogsmeade after breakfast… Do you wanna come with us, mama?"

Harry smiled fondly at his little boy. He ruffled Draco's blond tresses and nodded. "Sure, I'll come with you guys… I have nothing to do anyways."

… _But dodging girls from around every corner of the damn castle._

Draco leaned into Harry's touch and grinned. His mummy didn't hear what he was talking about with Miney after all. Harry just heard the picking part.

By this time, Hermione had been listening with rapt attention. She needed to create a diversion so that the young child could pick out something for Harry at Hogsmeade. When Harry started asking Draco what kind of candies he wanted, Hermione turned to Ron who had been busy eating to pay much attention to the conversation.

"Ron, I want you to take Harry away when we're at Hogsmeade," Hermione whispered conspiringly. She dug her elbow into Ron's ribs when the redhead didn't look at her.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You were not listening to me, Ronald!" Hermione said in a huff. Ron rubbed his side as Hermione continued on. "Anyway, I was telling you that I need you to distract Harry while we're at Hogsmeade."

"We're going to Hogsmeade? When did we agree to going to the village?"

"Just now," Hermione smiled, "our little blond wants to go to the village to buy something for Harry."

"Buy something…" Something clicked in Ron's head and the redheaded teen smirked. "I'm guessing it has something to do with today being Valentine's Day?"

"Lower your voice," Hermione hissed; she spared a quick glance at Harry and Draco. The blond was speaking quite loud about the types of chocolate he fancied. Then, the boy absentmindedly reached for one of the discarded roses on the table. Harry smiled and gave a rose to Draco, who happily accepted it.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, "so what do you want me to do? Should I drag Harry off to that new broom shop? I heard they have the newest model… The Meteor." Ron sighed dreamily. "That broom flies way smoother and faster than Harry's Firebolt."

"That's great! Yeah, take Harry with you and I'll help Draco… of course we'll have to buy some candy so Harry wouldn't know we were off finding him a gift… And I guess I'll be paying since Draco doesn't have any money." Hermione nodded to herself. "Then it's settled. We'll leave at once after you finish with your breakfast."

Ron dropped his utensils and rubbed his mouth with a napkin. "I'm good. So, what do you think Draco will get for our dear Harry?" Ron smirked; Hermione grinned and shrugged.

"Who knows? I told him he should get something thoughtful."

"Ah, Draco's a smart kid. I'm sure he'll know what to get… Just… Nothing pink, I hope."

Hermione promptly smacked the back of Ron's head.

* * *

**.: Hogsmeade shopping – 9:02 a.m. :.**

"Mate, let's go check out that new store! I think they have the newest broom! The Meteor… Can you believe it?! It just came out last week! Come on, we have to check it out!" Ron smiled widely and grabbed Harry's bicep.

Hermione was trying hard not to giggle. Ron could be a good actor sometimes. Very persuasive.

Harry looked stunned for a moment before laughing. "Alright, alright! We'll go check out the new broom…" Harry looked down at Draco. The blond looked right back at him. "Do you want to come with us, Draco?"

Draco hesitated and caught Hermione's eyes; the witch shook her head lightly. The blond bit his lips and shook his head at his mum. He didn't want to leave his mama, but he had an assignment and only Hermione could help him.

"You can go with Ron, mummy. I'll just stay with Miney. She can help me pick out my candies!" Draco beamed, trying to make it seem like he was alright with Harry going off with Ron.

Harry took the bait and smiled lightly. He let go of the blond's hand (Draco looked disappointed at that) and crouched down. When they were eye-leveled, Harry moved in and kissed Draco's forehead.

"Be good for Hermione, love. I'll be back soon." Harry looked to the side and grinned at Hermione. "I'll leave the little monster to you."

"HEY! I'm not a little monster!" Draco pouted and looked put out. Harry laughed and gave the boy a hug. Draco sniffed and tapped his cheek; Harry rolled his eyes and gave Draco a peck.

"Have fun picking out candies," Harry whispered, "and remember to say thank you to Hermione."

"I know, mama. You taught me to have good manners." Draco giggled when his mummy kissed him again. Hermione walked over and took Draco's hand.

"Have fun with Ron, Harry." Hermione glanced at Ron, who smirked behind Harry's head.

"Let's go, mate! Meet you guys at the Three Broomsticks an hour later, alright?"

"An hour? Do we really need—?"

Harry never got the chance to finish the sentence. Ron was already dragging him off, leaving Harry only to wave at Draco and Hermione. Once the boys were out of sight, Hermione and Draco started their mission.

* * *

"Now, do you have anything in mind?" Hermione asked the small blond. Draco shook his head, a panicked expression blooming across his face.

"I have no idea what mummy likes! I-I don't know…" Draco looked at Hermione helplessly. "Please help me… I don't want mummy to hate my gift."

"Harry's not going to _hate_ your gift, Draco," Hermione chided. When the young boy looked at her skeptically, she sighed. "I know you're thinking about all the roses and letters Harry received—"

"Yes! Mummy's got all those already, why would he like _my_ gift?" Draco's eyes were starting to turn red with held back tears. He yanked his hand away from Hermione's grip and started walking briskly away, not knowing where to go.

Hermione sighed loudly and went after the small child. She caught up with Draco and placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking any faster. Draco stopped abruptly and spun around, silver eyes flashing.

"What? I'm looking for a store! Let go of me, Miney!" Draco demanded in an ill-tempered tone. He was to the point where he was snarling at the witch.

_Well, there's the Malfoy temper we all knew and loved. _Hermione thought sarcastically.

"Listen, young man! I seriously do _not_ like your tone, but I'm not going to scold you for it," Hermione said sternly. She watched as Draco's scowl softened and finally, his whole body deflated. "You have no idea how much your mum loves you, Draco. He would _never_ hate your gift. You should know by now that your mum isn't like that."

Draco sniffed and looked down at his shoes. "I'm sorry… It's just that… Mummy's got so many flowers!" He looked up and Hermione saw a tear cascading down his cheek. "And I know mummy loves me, but the flowers and letters were given by older people, like you and Ron. I'm just a kid…"

"Oh, Draco…" Hermione knelt down on the cold stone ground. People walked by them, stared at them. Hermione paid those people no mind. She pulled Draco closer and brushed his tears away. "You hold a very special place in your mummy's heart, Draco. Haven't you notice how your mum never looked at the letters or cards he received? I'm sure you'd seen the way he stuffed them into his pockets without reading them."

"Does that mean he doesn't like them? He didn't _like_ those letters?" Draco asked, hope tingeing his voice.

When a small smile appeared on Draco's face, Hermione knew she had made Draco see sense. She knew her green-eyed friend only loved one person, and that person had been with them since November.

Harry only loved Draco, whether as a teen or as his de-aged self. All those letters and roses from half the Hogwarts' student population meant nothing to Harry.

"Harry could care less about them," Hermione said reassuringly. "This is why your gift will mean a lot to him. I'm not even sure if Harry will like it if _I_ gave him something," Hermione joked.

Draco cracked a smile at Miney's joke. "You're his friend, Miney. I'm sure mama will like whatever you give him, just like how you said he'll like whatever I get for him."

Hermione chuckled and stood up. "Are you convinced now? Shall we start looking? We don't have much time you know and we should cross our fingers and hope that Ron can keep your mum occupied for an hour."

HPDMHPDM

"You know, Ron, I can sense something's going on between you, Hermione, Draco," Harry said suddenly as he and Ron went inside the newly opened shop, _Aerial Magic_.

"That's rubbish, Harry," Ron scoffed, "must you think that way of your friends? That we're conspiring against you?" Ron then waggled his eyebrows at the brunet.

Harry laughed and shook his head. "I don't mean to sound like I'm suspecting something. It's just… I _know_ Draco's not really picking out chocolates and candies with Hermione right now." Harry smirked when Ron's face flushed red.

"Merlin, Hermione's going to have my skin," Ron muttered. Harry laughed but stopped when Ron glared at him. The redheaded let out a dramatic sigh. "I didn't really know we were coming to Hogsmeade until like… ten minutes before we left. Hermione only told me to distract you so that she and Draco could pick out something…"

"Ron, I said I know they're not picking candies—"

"They're _not._ Draco wants to get something for _you_. That's what Mione said anyway," Ron informed the brunet. "I think it's because today's Valentine's Day… and Draco wants to show his love." When Harry opened his mouth, Ron held up his hand. "I know what you want to say. You love Draco no matter what and he doesn't need to buy anything to prove he loves you. Merlin knows how much that kid loves you. Just pretend I told you nothing when we meet up with those two. Alright?"

Harry nodded, smiling. He actually thought Draco was sweet, trying to find something for him because it was Valentine's. Harry sighed softly and clasped his hands behind his back. He jerked his head in the direction where all the new brooms were displayed.

"Let's go see the new _Meteor_, shall we?"

* * *

"Granger, are you out shopping for your boyfriend?"

Hermione was looking at a small teddy bear, which was holding a red heart in front of its body, when she heard a girl's voice from somewhere to her right. She turned and was faced with a smirking Pansy. Hermione laughed and placed the bear back onto the shelf.

"No, I'm not shopping for my boyfriend; I don't have one to begin with. I'm just here with Draco." Hermione smiled at the dark-haired girl and walked down the aisle, with Pansy following.

"Draco? Why is he here? He can't be shopping for something for himself is he? This shop is set up temporarily for Valentine's Day." Pansy stopped when Hermione stopped to look at a picture frame with a cupid floating around it. "He's too young to be fancying someone… Unless—"

"—unless that person is his mum. We know him as Harry," Hermione finished. "I told Draco about what Valentine's Day is all about and then he was dead set in finding Harry something. It was a case of jealousy if you ask me."

"Let me guess, was it because of all the flowers Harry received?" Hermione nodded and Pansy let out a small laugh. "That's almost like the teenage Draco. Very possessive and in this case, he is possessive of his so-called mum."

"Maybe." Hermione poked the small cupid. "It's a shame that the teenage Draco wouldn't think of Harry other than his hated rival. Harry will be heartbroken when Draco's back to normal."

_There is so much you don't know, Granger. Draco will remember his time with Harry. He's not _that_ much of a bastard… _Pansy smiled to herself. _She's obviously forgetting that fact._

"So, where _is_ Draco?" Pansy asked; she was now the one chasing the cupid with her index finger.

"Somewhere… He wanted to find something all on his own," Hermione giggled, "he said he'll pick something and let me see so I can give him some opinions about it."

"Nothing too girly or pink, I hope."

"You sound just like Ron!" Hermione laughed.

"We're just sure Potter wouldn't like a frilly, stuffed, pink heart. Especially ones that burst out in love songs when you squeeze it and—"

"Miney! I found something! I found something!" Draco yelled; he was running and waving a small black frame in his left hand.

When the small boy stopped in front of the girls, he was panting but smiling. He handed the black frame for Hermione to see.

"I was looking at it… and then this man came up to me and told me all about it. He-he said I can have words engraved onto the frame. The words will glow at night. 'Not too bright', he told me. I was thinking to have the words in silver. Also, I can have small red hearts float around it! I thought it was so cool! So I took one and looked for you!" Draco finally caught his breath and stood straight, a hand pressing into his side. "Oh, Pansy! I didn't see you. Sorry," Draco apologized.

"Small red hearts, Draco?" Pansy was biting her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Yeah, small red hearts. I want mama to see the hearts so that he'll know I love him very much," Draco said. He watched as Hermione inspected the black picture frame. "So what do you think, Miney?" Draco was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"This is very thoughtful… Do you have any idea which picture you want to put in?"

"Uh… You know how mummy keeps all his pictures in the album?"

Hermione frowned slightly. "Yeah. I looked through that album every time a new picture goes in."

"We can't take any out. Only mum can."

"Oh… I can say that I wanted to make a copy to give to Pansy here," Hermione said, gesturing to the other girl. "That shouldn't make your mum suspicious, especially if you're the one that asks for it."

Draco and Hermione grinned at each other. They both knew how Harry could not say 'no' to Draco's pleading look. The huge round eyes worked wonders.

"So Harry's putting my camera into good use?" Pansy asked Hermione. The other witch snickered.

"He uses it almost every day."

"Mama said I look good in the pictures!" Draco added pompously. "Mum said I'm a beautiful little boy and I think mama's pretty, too!"

Pansy couldn't help it anymore and laughed. "Oh sweet Merlin! Hah… Harry—pretty!"

"My mummy is very pretty, Pansy!" Draco grumbled crossly; he folded his arms in front of his chest, glaring at Pansy defiantly. "He'll be even prettier if he doesn't wear the round glasses."

Hermione held out her hand and Draco took it. He was still peeved about Pansy thinking that his mama wasn't pretty like he said. But it didn't matter. He thought his mama was pretty and that's that.

* * *

**.: Back at the private rooms – 12:23 p.m. :. **

Harry sat down on the couch with a sigh. He was quite content; he had successfully escaped random appearing cards and flowers for more than three hours. Now that they were back inside, Harry seriously hoped that there was some sort of wards that prevented things from appearing. Namely love letters and scented roses.

"Draco, let me see what you picked with Hermione," Harry called out and waved the small blond over.

Draco was standing near the kitchen when he heard his mum called. He smiled and all but ran over to where Harry sat. Bouncing onto the couch, he snuggled deep into his mummy's side.

"I got some dark chocolates… they're in the shape of a cupid because today's Valentine's Day." Draco wrinkled his nose cutely and took out one of those. "They move around too much and are always trying to shoot me with their chocolate arrows." He held one between his fingers and offered it to Harry. "Want one, mama?"

Harry chuckled and said, "Sure." He was about to reach for the chocolate cupid when Draco held it in front of his lips. From Draco's expectant look, Harry deduced that his little blond wanted to feed him. Harry complied.

"Isn't it good, mum? I have lots more so don't worry about eating it all."

Harry snorted and pulled the small boy closer. Draco fished around his candy bag and took out a jelly candy; it was strawberry-flavored. As he chewed on the gummy, Draco caught Hermione's twinkling brown eyes and Ron's almost non-existent smirk. They knew about the plan, except for his mummy.

Or so Draco _thought_.

"Mama… I have a favor to ask…" Draco set his baggy aside and started twiddling his thumbs. Ron made a nonchalant noise while Hermione pretended to read.

There was always a book or two lying around the living room so it wasn't that hard to pretend.

"What is it?" Harry asked. _How can I refuse? And he didn't even ask yet! _

"Er… Me and Miney saw Pansy while we were in the candy… shop." Draco drew in a breath; Harry smiled to himself. He could tell Draco was lying, but he wasn't go say anything. After all, he had sworn to pretend he didn't know anything. Ron didn't say a _thing._

"She asked me to ask you if she can have a copy of that one picture we took… The one when we were building two snowmen outside… Do you remember, mummy?" Draco looked up at the brunet with wide eyes. "The one where we sat down in front of the snowmen. We made one that looked like you, and the other one looked like me! Pansy was there with Blaise. They laughed when I suggested giving the bigger snowman hair that looks like yours."

Harry chuckled at the memory. Of course he remembered. How could he not? They actually gave the taller snowman glasses and Draco had written, with his fingers, 'Mama' onto the belly of the snowman. Then, there was the hair thing… They _did_ end up giving the snow figure a mop of hair, as weird as that sounded. Draco had rolled around, laughing and clutching his tummy, and Harry ended up having to pick up the rolling boy to calm Draco down. This was back when Draco was six, so it had been a month ago.

"Well, I'm alright with it, but I'm not too sure on how to duplicate a photo…" _A picture? This has nothing to do with Draco's gift for me… is there?_

"Oh, I can help you there, Harry," Hermione piped up. She peered at the two over her book. "Just give me the picture and I'll make the copy. You can have the original right back; it's fairly simple."

Harry shrugged; he couldn't think of any reasons why he would say no. A picture didn't seem like it had anything to do with Draco's surprise gift. Harry held out his arm and called out, "Accio _photo album_!" and a second later, they heard a faint whistling sound. The album came into view and Harry caught it. He set the book onto the coffee table in front of him and flipped through the pages.

Draco, seeing that his mum was busy looking for the picture, chose this opportunity to clamber into Harry's lap. He knew that he was a bit too big to be snuggling properly with his mum, but that didn't stop him. When he was on Harry's lap, the green-eyed teen automatically wrapped an arm around the blond, thus letting Draco nuzzle Harry's chest. The blond closed his eyes and smiled sleepily. His mum never complained about him being too big. In fact, it seemed like his mummy _wanted_ him to snuggle.

"Aha! Here it is." Harry peeled the picture from the page. Hermione came over and took the photo from Harry's outstretched hand. "Have fun, Mione."

"It'll only take a minute. Do you doubt my abilities, Harry?"

"Oh Merlin, no!" Harry laughed. Draco mumbled and Harry looked down, finding his baby fast asleep. "Well, guys, it seems my little man here had fallen asleep. I need to put him to bed." Harry looked at Hermione and nodded at the picture she was holding. "You can just leave the photo on the table after you're done." Harry stood up carefully. Draco unconsciously wrapped his legs around Harry's hips and pressed his face into Harry's neck.

"Good luck in prying Draco off of you," Ron said. Hermione giggled and sat down where Harry was sitting a second ago.

"If I can't peel him off, this is the best excuse for me to take a nap also," Harry said, grinning. "I'm feeling a bit knackered myself." He rubbed Draco's back when the small boy whimpered in his sleep. "Wake us up in four hours." Harry waved at the other two teens and made his way to his bedroom.

When the door clicked shut, Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at the picture.

"So what did Draco get for Harry?" Ron asked; he watched as Hermione waved her wand above the picture. In a flash of white, there were two pictures sitting on the coffee table.

"Draco picked out a picture frame. I thought it was a really nice gift," Hermione answered; Ron hummed in response. "At first I thought he would pick a teddy bear holding a heart or one of those plushy red hearts that sings…"

"Hearts that sing?! That's disturbing," Ron mumbled, making a face. "Those things are huge and loud. I don't think Harry would want a singing heart in his room."

"I thought so, too." Hermione faked a shudder. "Well, it's done. All I need to do now is put the picture into the frame, shrink it, and then give it to Draco so that he can give it to Harry."

"I find this all very… funny."

"And why is that, Ron?" Hermione took out a shrunken frame from her jacket pocket.

"Here we have Draco worrying about Harry not loving him when in reality… The _real_ Draco is a damn bastard."

Hermione sighed. She had placed the picture into the frame while Ron was talking. She propped the frame up and admired it. It truly was a thoughtful gift on Draco's account.

"It's not just the teenage Draco we have to worry about. Once he turns eleven…"

"… He'll start remembering things from his first set of memories. I know, Hermione. I know."

* * *

**.: Harry taking a bath – 9:41 p.m. :. **

"Oh god… Oh god…"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco paced around in front of her.

"Draco—"

"Mummy's in the bathroom now. Why can't I just put the picture frame in his room right now? Why do I have to give it personally?"

"It's better that way. It shows you love him. You want that, don't you?"

Draco stopped walking and glared at the taller girl. "Of course! B-but I'm… scared!" Draco whined. "I've never given mummy something like this before! This… What if mama doesn't like it?!"

"You gave your mum plenty of hugs and kisses. They're signs of love as well. This isn't any different." Hermione held out the picture frame. Draco took it with a grumble. "Good. Now, you should wait in your mum's room and give it to him when he goes in."

"Can I back out now?"

"No, Draco."

"Fine."

Draco stalked away and went into Harry's room, closing the door with a small slam. Hermione snickered.

HPDMHPDM

The first thing Harry noticed when he got out from the bathroom was that it was quiet. _Too _quiet. There was nobody in the living room, nobody in the kitchens. With a quick look down the hall, Harry found doors to Hermione and Ron's room closed. Harry thought it was a bit weird for his two friends to turn in so early.

Once he was inside his bedroom he saw Draco in the form of a curled up ball on his bed. As he walked closer, he could see that Draco was just lying there, not sleeping. Grey eyes became alert once Harry came to view. Draco sat up abruptly and reached under one of Harry's pillows.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Harry asked softly.

"I-I uh… Mama, I have something for you!" Draco shot out. He groaned and blushed when his mummy chuckled.

"Is it more of your chocolate cupids?"

"No! No… It's something else…" Draco's hand slowly slid back out from under Harry's pillow. The teen's green eyes widened when he saw the black picture frame.

Once the frame was no longer pressed under the pillow, the floating hearts began moving around the black square frame. Soft glowing silver letters were etched into the glass.

_With Love, From Draco._

"I-I got this for you, mum… Today's Valentine's Day and Miney said it's a day to show the person you love that you… well… love them.

"I didn't want to be one of those people that gave you a flower or a card… I wanted something that would last for a long time… and pictures _do_ last forever. And I picked one that I thought was the best." Draco looked at Harry shyly and held out the picture frame with both hands. "I know I lied to you about the picture thing… that it was for Pansy. I had to do it so I could surprise you, mummy."

Harry was sure there were tears in his eyes, but he did not let them fall. This was too much. Draco wanted to show him that he loved him, a love that would last for a long time. Draco was right. This was a million times better than those stupid letters and roses. Harry took the picture frame and finally, tears fell. Draco frowned and crawled to Harry; he wrapped his arms around him.

"Mama… Why are you crying? Are you mad at me?" Draco asked worriedly.

"No… I'm not… I really, really love this… I love _you,_ Draco." Harry let out a shaky laugh. It was getting a bit hard to talk. "Nobody did this for me before… Oh baby, thank you…"

Draco beamed at his mummy and then kissed Harry on his lips.

"Just remember I love you, mummy. That's all I want."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Life sized dolls for everyone!! ;-P

Thanks for reading! :D


	16. Chapter 16: Change for Good or Bad

A/N: The time is near. Draco will turn eleven soon. Oh, I feel very sorry for Harry. Poor guy… :(

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

Maybe having a box of tissue next to you will be handy. I don't know… Meh, I guess it's not too sad :x I am trying to make this story happy :D I promise this will have a happy ending.

**Warning: Er. Nothing bad in this chapter. Maybe there will be a few tears. Oh, and it's short. –dodges thrown objects- The next chapter will be longer. I just want to get this out of the way :P**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_**Change for Good or Worse**_

**.: Wednesday, March 12, 1998 – 2:23 p.m. ten years and ten months :.**

"In the year 1109… The Elven War commenced… Dark and Light collided and…"

Harry groaned to himself as Professor Binns floated in front of the large classroom, droning on and on about some kind of war between the Dark Elves and the Light Elves. The ancient—Harry was _sure_ of this because the old man was a goddamn _ghost_—professor continued on in his scratchy, toneless voice. The green-eyed teen didn't have to look around to know that more than half the class was bored to death. Draco, on the other hand, seemed fascinated in what was spewing from the professor's mouth.

Draco leaned forward in his seat. He squinted at the apparition of the professor at the front of the room. History of the Wizarding world was interesting, in Draco's opinion. But when he looked at his mum, he saw that the older teen was just staring blankly into space. Draco frowned and tapped Harry's arm.

"Huh… What is it, Draco?" Harry asked, looking absolutely tired. It wasn't that surprising since History of Magic was Harry's last class of the day.

"Mum, are you feeling alright? You've been staring at that wall for quite awhile. Are you even listening to what your professor is saying? What if he gives you an exam tomorrow?" Draco then looked over at Harry's notes… it was blank. "Mum! You didn't write anything!" Draco furrowed his eyebrows at Harry and looked at his mum sternly. "Miney's going to yell at you when we're back at our rooms."

"Oh, it's fine. Hermione's not going to yell at me," Harry smiled, "she knows how… long this class can be. Besides, Professor Binns never gives out homework or tests."

"Really?" Draco arched an eyebrow at his mum. "Oh well. I guess he just likes to talk then. Most of the students here are sleeping. I think I'm the only one that actually listened." Draco giggled when his mummy blushed.

"I heard _some_ words…" Harry muttered. Draco just smiled at his mum.

"It's okay, mummy, if you want to know something I'll be more than happy to tell you."

Harry's whole face brightened and he reached out to ruffle Draco's hair. The boy tried to swat Harry's hand away, but inwardly, he liked it when his mummy ruffled his hair.

"You can be my personal notebook, love," Harry whispered before kissing Draco on his temple.

Draco nodded and grinned. "I really don't mind, mum." He looked at the grandfather clock on the left side of the classroom. Only five more minutes before class is over. "Mummy, can we go back to our rooms to have late lunch? I have a small headache and I want to sleep it off."

"Are you coming down with a cold?" Harry placed his hand over Draco's forehead. It felt normal, not hot.

Draco shook his head in the negative. "I'm fine, mum. I've been getting these small headaches in the past few days. I always wake up with a foggy mind in the mornings. It's like… there's something in the back of my head that's waiting to come out." Draco shrugged carelessly, not noticing the way Harry stiffened at his words. "Maybe it's the gloomy skies and cold weather."

"Yeah… Maybe," Harry mumbled.

* * *

**.: In living room; Draco taking a shower – 8:41 p.m. :.**

"I don't have much time left," Harry muttered, his eyes lingering at the closed bathroom door. On the other side, the other three occupants could hear pounding water and Draco softly humming.

"What do you mean you don't have time left?" Ron asked before taking a huge bite out of an apple. It was a snack, he said.

"Draco… He told me today that he's been getting headaches in the mornings," Harry explained; Ron continued chewing and nodded.

"What's wrong with that? I get headaches when I go to bed late the night before." Ron took one last bite and all was left was the apple core. "Sometimes it's so bad I don't want to wake up." When Hermione sent him a stern look, Ron smiled sheepishly. "Of course… Mione wakes me up anyway."

"That's different, Ronald," Hermione said in an almost whisper. She glanced at her dark-haired friend; Harry was still staring at the bathroom door. Hermione doubt Harry heard anything that Ron had said. She inched closer to the redheaded teen. "Draco turns eleven the day after tomorrow," the witch hissed into Ron's ear. "He'll start remembering things… He'll be almost normal. This is what Harry's been dreading."

Ron's hand, the one holding the apple core, slowly lowered. "Oh… right. Malfoy's going to be his bratty self again, huh? I sorta like the Draco we have now." Ron stood up and made his way to the kitchen. "At least he's not calling us any bad names." Ron then disappeared behind a wall.

"I'm sure Draco's not that bad once we get to know him," Harry spoke up after being silent for five minutes, "he… he'll start to be confused wouldn't he?" Harry turned to face Hermione, who was chewing on her bottom lip.

"That's what Dumbledore told you, isn't it? He said Draco will regain his old set of memories and it'll mix with the one he has now. I-I just want to say that you should be prepared, Harry."

"I've _been _prepared, ever since Draco turned nine. I had to give myself time…"

The sound of pounding water stopped. It was pretty obvious since it was really quiet in the quarters this night. Harry turned to look at the bathroom door again. Ron was walking back, wiping his hand with a napkin. He looked at Hermione and she shook her head sadly, a frown marring her face.

_Keep quiet_.

That was the message she was sending Ron with her facial expression. Weasley got the message and silently sat down in the armchair.

"… and I found out that it really wasn't enough."

Both Hermione and Ron swiveled their heads to look at Harry. The brunet stood up and waved his hand at his friends.

"I'm going to my room… do my homework or whatever," Harry muttered and trudged heavily to his room, his walk resembling that of an old man.

"If Draco asks for me, tell him I'm in there."

* * *

"Harry's been so down lately… I wish there was something we could do," Hermione murmured. Ron, who had vacated the armchair and moved to sit next to Hermione, nodded.

"But we both know that there's _nothing_ we could do," Ron said reluctantly. "As much as I don't like seeing Harry like this… We kinda expected it will happen soon, you know?"

"Just two days…"

"What about two days?" Draco was walking out, a wet towel draped on top of his head. His smile dimmed when he saw that his mum wasn't there. "Where's mum? Is he sleeping _already_? It's not even nine!" Draco pouted and pushed the towel off his head; he draped it across his arm and walked over to the other two teens. "Anyways, you guys were talking about something… two days?"

Hermione looked flustered. Ron chose to speak up. "In two days, it would be my birthday," he lied. Hermione's eyes widened and then she smiled softly. _Great job, Ronald._

Draco tilted his head to the side and looked at Ron questioningly. "But you both sounded so… sad. You should be happy that your birthday's coming up. I'm always happy, and mum, too."

It always amused the three older teens to no end whenever Draco aged one year. The blond never questioned Harry why he looked a little bit older every two weeks. Draco made it seem like nothing out of the ordinary happened. When Draco was nine, Hermione had asked Harry if Draco acted any differently toward him. It must be obvious to the young boy that Harry wasn't really his 'mum'. They had nothing in common. From the hair color to the face structure… all were different. Potter, however, just laughed, his emerald orbs sparkling.

"I'm sure he knows, Mione. He _is_ nine; he should be able to tell. But Draco loves me just as much. Nothing changed," was Harry's answer.

And it was true. Draco never ever questioned any of them. For Ron, it was funny how Draco's only ten but he was almost as tall as Harry. The blond reached Harry's biceps already. Even with how close their heights were, Draco was still very affectionate toward his mum. Just like he said when he was three, Harry will be his mum no matter what.

"Well, it's somewhat different for Ron, Draco," Hermione said. Draco turned his attention to the girl.

"Why? You can get presents! I know I haven't really gotten much, but that's because mum's in school now. He doesn't have time to get me stuff." Draco nodded to himself with a smile. "I understand that. It doesn't matter, really. Actually, I'm the one that gave him something instead! My very first present for mum. I'm glad he liked that picture frame I got for him on Valentine's." Draco's smile was blinding.

Hermione laughed. "Harry talked about it for days, but anyways, Ron sounded sad because he'll be old."

"Like an old man?" Draco asked, smirking. Ron scoffed at the blond.

"As if! I'll be eighteen that's all."

"Oh, wow… you're eight years older than me?" Draco asked.

"Hm… Yeah," Ron said casually.

"HAH! You _are_ old," Draco crowed; he stuck out his tongue when Ron rolled his eyes at him. "Well, maybe we can have a party. I'll ask mum for you. He gave me little parties when I asked."

"Your mum's in his room," Hermione told the boy. "If he's busy, try not to bother him." She knew Harry was probably sulking in his room and not really doing his homework.

After Draco bounded to Harry's room, Hermione let out a tired sigh. Ron tilted his head back and pinched the bridge of his freckled nose.

"Merlin… It's a good thing my birthday's really in March. We can make it believable," Ron muttered. "Harry wouldn't really know that we just lied to Draco. He'll probably understand. We kept ourselves from mentioning anything that's related to the older Malfoy for the past five months. Yeah… Harry will know why we did this," Ron assured himself.

"It was quick thinking on your part though," Hermione praised. "Even I wasn't thinking about telling Draco that it was your birthday."

Ron smiled cheekily at the witch. "Well, it happens every now and then. I _can_ say something smart if I wanted to."

* * *

**.: Thursday, March 13, 1998 – 10:53 p.m. ten years and eleven months :.**

"Mum, I need to tell you something," Draco said as he and Harry were walking to Transfiguration. Hermione and Ron were walking behind the two boys. Granger shared a look with the redhead next to her.

"Draco's going to ask Harry," the witch whispered. "We better cross our fingers."

"No we don't," Ron argued. "Trust me, Draco will get what he wants. Have you ever seen Harry refuse him?" Hermione shook her head slightly. "Exactly. I'll get my party tonight, just as Draco promised."

Today was the last time the group will have the nice, cheerful Draco around. Tomorrow, things will be different.

Very different.

"I hope Harry's alright. He's been so detached today. I noticed he was barely paying any attention to Professor Snape." She punched Ron's arm when the redhead snorted. "I'm serious, Ron. I don't know if Harry can take this."

Ron stole a glance at his friend and the younger blond next to Harry. They were chatting merrily away. Of course, Draco didn't know what was going on, but Harry… Well, Harry was trying his best to not show his emotions on his face. The one thing Harry didn't want was for Draco to be worried about him.

"Things will be fine, Hermione. We have to believe it," Ron whispered.

HPDMHPDM

"… So, I was wondering if we can have a small party for Ron today," Draco said. He waved at one of the paintings as they walked by. The woman in the painting looked startled before waving lightly at the blond. "Ron told me last night that his birthday is coming up. He was all sad because he's getting old…" He turned back and grinned evilly at Ron, who sent Draco a mock snarl.

"Ron's birthday…?" It was Harry's turn to look back at his friends. Hermione gave Harry a 'go with his story' look while Ron mouthed 'just say yes'. Harry sighed.

_I guess this is about the two days thing… I heard them even though I was sulking in my room. Draco was so loud.  
_

"What do you say, mum? Can we?" Draco asked hopefully. "Tomorrow's Friday and all of you only have to attend like… two classes."

Harry smiled wanly. They might as well have one last night where everybody was happy. Who knows what would tomorrow bring…

"Sure, love, we can have the party. We can ask the house elves to bring us some gourmet foods."

Draco smiled up at Harry lovingly and walked closer to the brunet, their hips almost touching.

"Thanks, mum. I just wanted Ron to be happy about turning older. Adding one year isn't so bad." Draco chuckled. "You should've seen him! He was all moping and—"

"I was _not_ moping!" Ron protest from behind. "Just because you're younger doesn't mean I'm not going to smack you upside the head, Draco."

Draco snickered and wagged head. "You're not. Mum's not going to let you." Draco looked at Harry with round, innocent eyes.

Harry snorted and took Draco's hand when the younger boy touched his palm. "No, I won't let Ron hit you."

Draco smiled smugly before letting his mum pull him toward Transfiguration.

* * *

**.: Party Time – 8:18 p.m. :.**

"Fuck, Harry! That's one awesome cake!"

"Ronald! Mind your language," Hermione chided but she was smiling. Harry laughed and sat down across from them. Draco was already sitting, his grey eyes staring at the cake hungrily.

"Mum, it's so not fair," Draco said suddenly. Harry looked at the blond but Draco was still looking at the cake on the table, but now he was adorning a small frown.

"Why do you say that?"

"My cake wasn't this big! That one chocolate cake I saw in the photo album…" Draco scowled at his mum. "My cake was small compared to Ron's."

"_You_ were just a tiny little baby," Ron said, smirking, "if I remember correctly, you ate two bites and the rest were fed to your mum."

"Oh yeah… there was a picture with me feeding you, mum." Draco giggled. "I guess I was a pretty messy eater back then. My whole chin was covered with chocolate frosting."

"Don't even talk about it." Harry feigned a groan. "I spent two hours washing you off. Then I spent an hour for myself because of your sticky fingers got tangled with my hair."

"Good times." Draco grinned at the memory.

"Yeah… Good times," Harry agreed, albeit sadly.

Hermione cleared her throat. She could see Harry was getting depressed again. She elbowed Ron in the ribs and nodded her head at the knife that was sitting next to the cake. Ron got the message and stood up from the table. He picked up the knife and poised it above the three layered cake.

"I propose that Draco and Harry should sing me the birthday song… No matter how tone deaf Draco is." Ron ducked when Draco tempted to throw a balled-up napkin at him. It landed near the cake and Hermione picked it up with a roll of her eyes.

"Children," she muttered.

"Draco's not tone deaf, Ron," Harry said in defense for Draco.

"That's right! Mum said I sing really well," Draco added.

Ron flapped his hand at both of them. "Whatever. Now sing me my song."

Harry and Draco sang together. In truth, the blond _was_ tone deaf. Harry kept himself from laughing and continued his singing, Hermione only giggled as Draco belted out the birthday song. Ron, on the other hand, laughed out loud when Draco's voice cracked in the part where they sang Ron's name.

That earned him a glare from Draco.

When equal pieces of cake were passed out, Draco dug in with fervor. It seemed the blond had a sweet-tooth.

Two hours later, every one headed for their rooms. They were full and sleepy, especially Ron. He ate the most.

As Harry tucked Draco in, the boy blinked sleepily at his mum. Harry smiled and bent down to place a soft kiss on Draco's forehead. He then brushed the blond hair away from Draco's eyes.

"I'm so full… I think I might still have a round tummy by tomorrow," Draco murmured, his eyes drooping. "Hope I'm not going to have a stomachache… I ate almost as much as Ron and that's saying something."

Harry chortled and pulled the blanket higher, closer to Draco's chin. "Just close your eyes and think of nothing, Draco. But if you do feel uncomfortable later in the night, come seek me out, alright? My door's always opened."

"Don't worry, mum, I will," Draco promised. He turned to his side and snuggled under the soft blanket. "Goodnight."

"G'night…"

_Things will be fine tomorrow… I hope._

* * *

**.: Friday, March 14, 1998 – 7:19 a.m. eleven years old :.**

Harry moaned pitifully and rolled over to his right side. He felt absolutely bloated. With an arm draped across his abdomen, Harry felt just how rounded his stomach was. With his lingering flab still present, it certainly didn't help matters.

And then, there was a sound. Very soft, but Harry still heard it. His sleep-befuddled mind could make out a small creak of his bedroom door. The green-eyed teen then heard soft footsteps creeping closer to his bed.

_Hermione? Merlin… I don't want to wake up yet… That girl is like a damn alarm clock._

Harry forced himself to open his eyes. If he was to tell Hermione off, might as well do it with his eyes opened. Instead of brown bushy hair, Harry was greeted with soft blond hair. Potter blinked a few times and squinted.

"Draco…?" Harry was still half awake; he still hadn't realized today was the day when Draco will…

When the other boy did not answer, Harry became more awake. He felt around for his glasses and placed them on once he found them. A pair of grey eyes, so different from the ones he had seen for the past five months, stared at him. Draco's usual smiling face was now of an indifferent mask. His lips were formed in a slight frown, his eyebrows were furrowed.

It was because of seeing his face that Harry remembered what today was. He sat up and was disheartened when Draco took a small step back.

"Draco, what—" Harry was trying so hard not to break down.

"Don't say anything," Draco cut Harry off. When Harry gasped lightly, Draco's expression softened. His eyebrows furrowed deeper. He grabbed his head and looked down, away from Harry. It was as if he was fighting his own mind.

Harry tried to reach out and pull the younger boy closer, but Draco stiffened at the contact. Determined, Harry yanked Draco close.

"Draco…" Harry whispered. "Look at me. Please."

Draco did look up but with hardened eyes. He then sneered at Harry, albeit slightly.

"Why are you so old? Aren't you eleven, like me? Aren't we both first years? Why the hell do I remember things with me being a baby and I was calling you mama." Draco took a deep breath. "I know it was you because of those… beautiful green eyes…"

Harry pulled the blond to his body and he was glad when Draco didn't push away.

"Draco… there are many things I have to explain to you…"

"Just tell me what the hell is going on, mum…" Draco shook his head. "I'm so confused. I can remember myself as a baby… Just last night we had a party for Ron… Weasley… Why am I calling him that?! I-I don't know where that came from…"

"Draco, calm down…" Harry cajoled.

"I can't… I can't… Everything's mixed up in my head…" Draco sobbed.

He then pulled back and looked at Harry. It was the Draco Harry had been taking care of. The grey eyes were pleading. They were shining with unshed tears but were not hard and cold.

"… I-I don't even know if I should call you mum or Potter…"

Everything was not alright.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Chapter 16 for ya! ;D A little bit sad here and there… but as I said in the beginning, this will have a happy ending. ;P

Thanks for reading! :D


	17. Chapter 17: Acceptance

A/N: As you might have seen, I've been doing a Christmas fic for the past two weeks. I am very sorry for the extremely long wait for this chapter.

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

There are flashbacks… They are in italics.

**Warning: Nothing to be afraid of. **

* * *

**Chapter 17**

_**Acceptance, or Something like It**_

**.: Friday, March 14, 1998 – 8:12 a.m. eleven years old :.**

The morning was a sordid affair. Hermione and Ron could tell there was something different when Harry stepped out from his bedroom. The green-eyed teen stared at them with tired eyes and did not say one word. Hermione vacated her chair and went to sit next to Harry at the dining table.

"Harry…"

"He… Draco remembered things from the past," Harry said, sighing. "I know there's nothing I can do to prevent it… but I just hate seeing him so confused."

"Where is he now?" Hermione asked softly. "Do you think Draco will go to classes with you today?"

"I don't think so, Hermione… He walked out of my room after I explained everything. He was acting like a walking corpse; so empty," Harry muttered. "I'm just surprised he didn't scream 'I hate you' right in my face."

"Malfoy's just really… confused," Ron said. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and then stood up, hoisting his school bag to his shoulder. "Let the guy have some alone time; sort his feelings out. Merlin knows how much he's going through right now."

"You're right…" Harry sighed again and took a piece of toast from his plate. He saw Hermione frowning at him. "Don't look at me like that, Mione… I don't… feel like eating much."

"Fine, Harry," Hermione sighed, "come on, we don't want to be late to class."

Harry smiled lightly and followed his two friends. Before he was out of the room, he turned and gazed back at Draco's room. The door was still firmly closed. Harry shook his head sadly and left.

_Everything will be back the way it was…_

* * *

"… _I-I don't even know if I should call you mum or Potter…" Draco mumbled. "You refused my friendship, but you were the same size as I was. You're so old now… I-I… What's happening to me?!"_

"_Draco, let me explain why this is all happening," Harry pleaded. "Come on, sit on the bed. This will take awhile…"_

_Draco scowled but listened to what Harry asked for him to do. He got on the bed, but sat two feet away from the brunet. Harry noticed, but chose not to say anything._

"_It was the start of our seventh year, Draco. We were in Snape's class…"_

"_Professor Snape? You mean I made it to Advance Potions?" Draco asked, cutting Harry off. Harry chuckled and nodded. "Oh… Good. I was worried I would be horrible at potions. This is so weird… I-I'm actually in seventh year, but I don't… So you're a seventh year…" Draco blushed when he finally realized he was blabbing. "Oh… Sorry mum… Er." Draco immediately looked embarrassed._

_Harry shook his head. "It's alright. You've been calling me that since… the accident."_

_Draco's face hardened. "What exactly happened, Pot – I mean… Oh…" Draco shut his eyes and turned his head away. "Please, just tell me."_

_Harry swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. Draco was starting to be more like his old self…_

"_It was September, and we were leaving Potions. I was walking with Hermione and Ron… I wasn't looking at where I was going and I bumped into you." Harry felt his face heat up. Draco, although he wasn't looking at Harry, was trying not to laugh._

"_Go on, Potter…" Harry nodded to himself. He guessed Draco was going to start calling him Potter again._

"_Parvati… She fired a spell at you. An ancient spell called 'Vita Suscipio'. Basically that spell makes the target turn back into his earliest life form. Then, the spell transfers him to the closest life vessel."_

"_Which was you…" Draco let out a bitter laugh. "It had to be you, Potter…" The blond turned his head and looked at Harry, his eyes blank. "Why didn't you send me back to the Slytherins? Did you think it was funny because I was turned into a goddamn fetus?! And-and that you had to carry me in you for Merlin knows how long!"_

_Harry's eyes widened. "No!" _

_Draco shook his head, his hands gripping his hair. "Oh my god… I was inside you! For… For…"_

"_Two months… and it's been five months since you were born… I-I never regretted any of this. Dumbledore warned me about how you would start remembering things from your first set of memories… That is why you only remember me as eleven, same like you. As you age, you'll regain more."_

_Draco shook his head slowly and jumped off the bed. Harry tried to take a hold of the smaller boy, but Draco jerked his shoulder away._

"_I… I don't know… This is too much… I… didn't like you, but now… Fuck." Draco dashed out of the room, leaving Harry to stare at the disappearing backside. _

_Harry winced when Draco slammed his bedroom door._

"_Draco…" _

Draco was sitting in the living room area, staring down at his folded hands. He came out from his bedroom after he had heard the front portrait close, indicating that the three older teens were gone.

"Pot – Mum… He took care of me when he didn't have to. We hated each other and yet, there he was and here I am," Draco murmured to himself. "He could've dumped me with the snakes right after I was 'born'." Draco spat out; his face softened when fuzzy images of Harry looking down at him with love swam in his mind. "He loved me… Like a real mother would.

"He could've harmed me, hurt me, take revenge on me… but he didn't. Mum… Yes, he'll be mum in private." Draco smiled softly. "Harry… he loved me more than my real mother ever did.

"I remember his face… the first time he held me…" Draco looked up at the front portrait; they will be back soon.

"He loves me… and the feeling is completely mutual."

* * *

**.: Friday, March 14, 1998 – 2:13 p.m. :.**

Harry was the first to step into the private rooms. His eyes landed on the blond head that was bowed. Harry thought it was best for him to just walk by, but Draco shifted on the sofa, making Harry pause in his tracks. Hermione and Ron were right behind the green-eyed teen; they were also going to walk by, leaving Draco alone, but the shifting stopped them as well. All three stood nearby like statues.

"I… thought about things. For awhile. For a _long_ while." Draco looked up and smiled when Potter stared owlishly at him.

Draco was dressed in a pair of black trousers, white dress shirt, and a grey jumper over it. Overall, Draco looked almost like a Hogwarts' student; he was only missing a Slytherin tie and the school robes.

"Mum – I'm going to call you mum… Is that alright?" Draco asked with a small smile. Harry's jaw dropped. It was only when Hermione giggled did he close his mouth again.

"Of-of course! I thought… I thought you wouldn't want to call me that… after what I told you earlier this morning… You didn't even want to be near me."

"It's a bit disconcerting, but… I believe you. And I'm sorry about how I acted." Draco smiled a little more. "At least now I know I'm not losing my sanity…" Draco then smirked at Harry. "And I called you 'mum' for all these months; I find I don't mind all that much about calling you that… I'm really glad you took care of me, kept me safe, like a mother would." Draco got off his seat and went to Harry. He threw his arms around the brunet and hugged him tight. "But one thing though. I'm going to have to call you 'Harry' in public… I think calling you mum will be a bit odd to other students."

"Whatever you feel comfortable with, Draco… It _is_ alright to call you that right?" Harry asked, wincing slightly. "We were… not friends before this happened. Like you said, you hated me." Harry's heart clenched, waiting for Draco's answer.

Draco laughed dryly. "I think it's safe to say that we're more than friends now. This whole… experience changed how I look at things." He looked at Hermione and then at Ron, smiling at the both of them. "You Gryffindors aren't so bad… I'm sorry for giving you guys so much trouble… I'm apologizing for my seventeen year old self as well. I'm sure I won't do this when I'm older." Draco rolled his eyes; the other three laughed, agreeing with what Draco said.

"So, Draco… You're… You're okay with all of this?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Yeah… It still hurts my head… all the different memories and stuff, but other than that, yes." Draco turned and faced Harry, his eyes shining with something close to love. "I really have to thank you, Harry. Going through that pregnancy and having to take care of a baby must've been hard on you."

Harry shook his head and pulled Draco close to him. "No! Not at all! It was… nice. As I said before, I don't regret any of it. I was really scared that you would hate me again after you regain your memories… I didn't want that to happen…" Harry's voice got smaller and Draco automatically comforted Harry by rubbing the taller teen's back.

"Not going to happen, mum…" Draco whispered into Harry's chest. "If I remember correctly… I asked for your hand in friendship when we were both eleven…"

"Yes… You did."

"And from what you said… I'll keep on regaining my memories as I age and I'll also remember the things that happened in real-time."

"Mhmm…" Harry wasn't sure where Draco was going.

"Well then." Draco backed up and grinned at a confused Harry. He held out his hand and Harry took it. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

Harry laughed and shook hands with the small blond. "I'm Harry Potter. Nice to meet you."

Draco smiled. "When I'm seventeen again – and I'm being nice with you three – other people wouldn't look at us weird. I will tell them we're friends, as strange as it would sound to them." Draco then turned solemn eyes on Harry. "Harry, promise to wait for me."

"What?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"I-I… There is something I must do," Draco explained. "I remember something I promised myself to do… I was three then. It's not clear, but I remember something…" Draco frowned at Harry. "Just wait for me."

_Wait for me._

* * *

**.: Friday, March 14, 1998 – 6:36 p.m. :.**

"I want to go out," Draco stated firmly. "I want to see my friends, mum."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Draco with concern. "Are you sure, Draco? People might…"

"I don't care what others think," Draco said sharply; his tone then softened. "As long as you're with me, I'll be fine."

"Harry, he's right," Hermione said. "It's just dinner. I'm sure that Pansy and Blaise will be very happy to see Draco again. It's been weeks since we saw them last."

Ron was sitting in the armchair, his hands pressed down onto his stomach. "Can we decide? My stomach's growling up a storm." Ron checked the clock in the living room. "If we don't hurry… all the good foods are going to be gone."

Draco's lips twitched. Harry rolled his eyes and let his arms drop to his sides; they were previously on his hips.

"Fine… Let's go before Ron's stomach eats itself." Harry grinned when Ron let out a whoop and Draco practically threw his jacket on.

When Draco and Ron dashed out, Harry and Hermione followed them at a more controlled pace. The witch shook her head.

"I swear… Sometimes I feel like there are _two_ youngsters instead of one."

Harry laughed. "You better not tell Ron that."

HPDMHPDM

Pansy Parkinson thought she was brought back in time. She was eating a spoon of mashed potatoes when the Great Hall doors opened, revealing somebody she hadn't seen for… six years.

And there was the brilliant smile she thought that was lost forever.

Pansy swallowed her mouthful of potatoes and put her spoon down. She then jabbed Blaise in the ribs; he let out a squawk and turned to glare at the girl.

"What the fuck was that for, Parkinson?" Blaise growled; he frowned when Pansy didn't answer him. "Pans… What's wrong?"

"Blaise…" Pansy sounded as if she was near tears. "He's… Look at him! I thought I wouldn't see it again… He's Draco… Not Malfoy, the Ice Prince."

Blaise followed Pansy's line of sight. She was right. There was Draco, walking next to Potter. The blond was wearing the hugest smile on his face. One that Blaise hadn't seen since they were young children.

Pansy and Blaise were smiling when Draco started coming towards them. Harry was standing near with Granger and Weasley. They didn't look too comfortable, which was no surprise since they were in Slytherins' territory.

"Pansy! Blaise!" Draco called. When he was close enough, Pansy pulled him into a tight hug, in which he returned. "Pansy… You're squishing me…"

"Oh! Sorry," Pansy whispered; she looked up at the Gryffindors. "Harry, Granger, and Weasley…"

"Draco said he wanted to join you guys for dinner, and I don't see why not," Harry said. He sat down on the bench, next to Pansy. "Nobody is sitting here, right?"

Hermione and Ron also sat down. The Slytherins were actually smiling at the lions. They would only accept those three, the ones that took care of Draco. These Gryffindors were an exception.

* * *

**.: In private rooms – 8:48 p.m. :.**

"Have a seat and make yourselves comfortable…" Harry sat down across from Pansy and Blaise. Draco plunked down next to Harry and placed his head on Harry's shoulder.

"Oh, don't look too surprised," Hermione said. "Draco understands what had happened. He asked for our friendship… I think it's great… You guys don't—"

"No," Blaise cut in. "Draco always wanted to be Harry's friend. It was just… circumstances that prevented him from being nice to you guys."

Pansy smiled knowingly to herself. _Draco wants Harry to be more than friends, I'm sure about that…_

"Pansy, what are you smiling about?" Pansy stopped smiling; Draco was looking at her curiously.

"Nothing…" She flapped her hand at the blond. "It's just… cute seeing you like that with Harry."

Draco puffed out one cheek. "I don't do cute! And I'm sure my seventeen year old self would say the same thing."

"Oh yes… You're always reminding us that Malfoys are not cute in any shape or form." Blaise sat back and smirked at Draco.

"Don't call me Malfoy… It makes me sound like my bastard self… I'm not… Like _him._" Draco looked away from the Slytherins and buried his face in his mum's arm. He smiled; Harry smelled like lavender and something else… "Harry… You remind me of pillows…" Draco looked up to find Harry turning pink in the face. "What? Was it something…"

"You… When you were a baby… You used to like sleeping on my stomach," Harry said. "I never found time to work off the flab that I obtained when I was pregnant… So I have this small belly and you liked sleeping on it."

Draco grinned and placed a hand on Harry's stomach. "My, my… Harry, you lazy person…" Draco pressed his hand down. "Ah, I think I remember, too."

Ron snickered and Hermione giggled. Pansy was just laughing out right while Blaise looked at them funny.

"Potter… Are you telling us that you _kept_ your stomach that way because Draco liked sleeping on it?"

Harry blushed. _God… I knew I should've just worked it off. _"Yeah… and I was lazy!" Harry added.

Draco smiled. "Don't worry, mum… When I'm older, I'll help you exercise it off. I can't have you be chubby now…"

"What's wrong with me being chubby?" Harry asked haughtily. "Maybe I'm cute chubby."

Draco curled up into a ball and turned his body, facing Harry. "I like how you are now… Don't change… I love…"

The five teens were silent. Harry thought he was hearing things. When he looked down at Draco, the boy was already asleep. He looked up at the Slytherins with wide eyes. Pansy tried to avoid the intense gaze, but Harry caught her looking away.

"Pansy… Do you know something?"

* * *

**.: Flashback – 1997 :.**

"_Draco, why are you pacing back and forth?"_

_Draco stopped in his tracks and glared at the dark-haired girl. He sighed and sat down in a black armchair. He and Pansy were in their Common Room. It was Valentine's Day. Other Slytherins were out having fun at the dance that was held in the Great Hall. _

"_I'm trying to decide if I should… Why am I even telling you?" Draco looked away and jumped up from his seat and started pacing again. "Why aren't you out dancing with all the sixth year guys of Hogwarts?"_

_Pansy snorted and sat back in the couch. "I was. I just came back since a certain blond was missing."_

_Draco let out an agitated sigh, but did not stop walking back and forth. "I don't want to be surrounded by girls." It was then Pansy noticed Draco was holding a small present. _

"_Oh! Is that for me, Draco?" Pansy asked sweetly. She smirked when Draco whirled around and scowled at her. _

"_How many times…"_

_Pansy held up her hand. "I know, Dray. I was just teasing you. Yes, you've told me many times you are not interested in girls." She watched with fascination as Draco's whole body deflated. "But you never really told me or Blaise who it is that you fancy."_

_Draco sat down. This time there was no scowls or glares. He looked at his friend. "You'll laugh at me or maybe hate me if I told you…" Draco played with the red ribbon that was around the small gift. "I'm not quite sure if I'll ever tell him… I like him. He'll probably curse me to oblivion. I can't have him know…"_

"_Just who is it, Draco? Come on, you can tell me…" Pansy coaxed. "I swear I won't tell a soul."_

_Draco didn't look up from the small box, but he nodded. "This… I really want to write my name on the card, but if I did, he'll probably throw this present away." Draco shook his head. "This is stupid… I'm… I'll just…"_

"_Draco!" Pansy cried exasperatedly. "Who is this mysterious person?!"_

"_See for yourself… I'm going to bed. I'm sure he won't be happy to see me at the party." With that, Draco tossed the box at Pansy. "You can keep it… Goodnight… Have fun, Pansy."_

_Pansy watched with sad eyes as her friend trudged upstairs to the boys' dorms. When she was sure Draco was in his room, she looked down at the gift. It was beautifully wrapped with a glittery dark red paper. A small card was stuck on top. Pansy ripped it out and opened the card. It was one of those that were barely big enough to have two names and a short message. Her brown eyes widened when she saw the name._

"_Oh Merlin…" Pansy let out a shaky breath; she closed the card and stuffed it into her pocket._

"_Draco… Why would we hate you for falling in love… with _him_?"_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: So sorry! Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Uhm… Harry puppets for you! :D

Thanks for reading :)


	18. Chapter 18: Dragon's Lament

A/N: You probably could guess who it was for. Ah, poor Draco… :(

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

Yeah, I can't wait until Draco's back to his normal self again. The fun's going to start when he's seventeen. :D

**Warning: A bit sad. Flashbacks. **

* * *

**Chapter 18**

_**Dragon's Lament**_

**.: Friday, March 14, 1998 – 8:53 p.m. eleven years old :.**

"So… Draco had a gift for some guy, but he didn't give it?" Ron asked.

Pansy nodded curtly. She had told the whole gang what happened one year ago on Valentine's Day. She had kept it a secret so naturally, even Blaise was surprised. When Harry heard Pansy's story, his heart throbbed. It throbbed for the small boy who was now asleep next to him. The green-eyed teen was saddened; so there _was_ somebody that Draco liked. The blond had liked the guy enough to give him a gift. But one thing Harry didn't understand. Why would the person hate Draco…?

"When Draco gave you the gift, what did you do with it?" Hermione asked. She looked over to Harry; he was not looking at anybody at the moment.

"I…" Pansy started. She didn't want to tell them; she promised Draco that she wouldn't. But what's the use of hiding the truth? The person of Draco's desires was in this very room.

"Spit it out, Pans!" Blaise nudged the girl's shoulder, shaking Pansy from her thoughts.

The short-haired girl sighed one last time. She held out her right arm and with her left hand, Pansy pulled back her sleeve. Around her wrist was the… _most_ beautifully crafted bracelet Harry had ever seen. That didn't mean much since Harry hardly looked at jewelry, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"I kept it, just like he asked for me to do." Pansy brought her arm closer and she touched the gemstones on the bracelet. "I never told a soul who this was for. Draco asked me where the bracelet was the day after Valentine's; I told him I kept it safe.

"He joked about it, how I finally received jewelry from him. He then thanked me for keeping it a secret. We both knew the rest of the Slytherin House would make things hard for Draco if they heard about it.

"Days went by, and Draco began to relax again, knowing I wouldn't tell anybody. I wore it ever since. It never left my wrist, except when I'm taking a bath. I never thought there would be a day where I can return the present to the rightful owner." Pansy smiled at the sleeping blond next to Harry. "It's time."

Harry noticed the way Pansy kept on looking at him. Something in those brown eyes told him that the very person was in this room. There weren't many to choose from. It was either Blaise, Ron, or… him.

_Why would it be me…? _Harry thought bitterly. _Draco didn't like me back then… He likes me now because of the spell accident. _Harry looked around the room. Ron was between looking sad and looking like he was hoping the mystery guy wasn't him. Blaise was calm and seemed amused about the whole situation. Pansy unclasped the chain from her wrist and stood up from her seat. She took two steps until she was right in the middle of the living room. She looked at Ron, then Blaise, and lastly, Harry. The green-eyed teen gulped when her eyes landed on him.

"I didn't understand why Draco liked that person," Pansy said suddenly. That caught the attention of everybody, sans Draco. "But I could tell how much Draco liked him… Or maybe loved." She took a step forward. "The whole school viewed Draco and the person as enemies. Who would've known?"

"Well, it's not me then," Blaise threw his hands up in mock defeat and sat back. "Draco and I aren't enemies." He smirked when Weasley whimpered. Harry's heart fluttered; there was a tiny spark of hope.

_Could it be…? Can it? But why would it be…_

Pansy dropped the delicate bracelet into her palm and walked up to the brunet. "Never in a million years…"

She smiled when the younger teen stared at her in shock. Faster than Harry could let out a squeak, Pansy's hand shot out and grabbed Harry's wrist. With a twist, his palm faced upward. The other people in the room were now… thoroughly speechless.

"I kept it safe for you, Harry. It's back to where it was supposed to be with." Pansy let the bracelet slid down from her palm and into Harry's. "It was you. It was always you."

* * *

**.: Flashback – 1997 :. **

"_Where is it, Pansy?"_

"_What?" Pansy hissed. They were in Ancient Runes, writing down whatever the professor was saying._

"_The present… The one…"_

_Pansy sighed and put her quill into the ink bottle. She pulled her robe sleeve up, and showed Draco her arm._

"_I thought it would be a waste, so I wore it." Pansy let her sleeve slide back down. "Don't worry, nobody knows. I burned the card."_

_Draco let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Pans."_

_0:.0:.0:.0:.0:.0:._

_She and Draco were walking alongside each other as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. When they were both at the door, the Trio was also there. Pansy, in her peripheral vision, saw Draco putting on that mask. A sneer was on his face as he strode over to Potter._

"_Move aside, Potter."_

_Pansy inwardly groaned when Weasley came to the rescue. She was surprised when all Harry did was moving away from the door and turning a bit pink._

_Hmm._

"_Fuck you, Malfoy. We were here first, so why don't you stand aside?" the redhead spat. He then turned to Harry and Hermione. "Come on."_

_Ron shoved the doors open; Hermione followed the redheaded teen and Potter cast a short glance at Draco before going after his friends. When the Gryffindors were gone, Draco sagged and his face softened._

"_I don't want to be like this… Love him for so long… But I have to," Draco whispered. "He can't… Nobody can. Slytherins especially…" Draco spun around and grabbed Pansy's hands. "You can't tell anybody! N-not even Blaise… He might say something on accident… You know how talkative he is."_

_Pansy brought their hands together. "I won't. He'll never know."_

_0:.0:.0:.0:.0:.0:.0_

"_Are you ever going to actually _say_ something to him?" Pansy asked. She was in Draco's private room. Being Prefect had its perks. "It's almost the end of the year."_

"_Don't think I'll have the chance to," Draco muttered; he was lying on the bed with Pansy sitting at the foot of it. "I received a letter yesterday… It was from my father."_

"_Oh no…" the girl groaned, "is it about the marrying a girl and all that load of rubbish?"_

_Draco chuckled. "Yeah, that kind of rubbish." The blond sat up and smiled lightly at Pansy. "You're probably the only one that knows… Hell, even Blaise—"_

"_You told me not to tell, so I didn't," Pansy said, cutting Draco off._

"_Yeah… Anyway, Father asked about you."_

_The brown-haired girl snorted. "Is he still thinking about us getting married one day?"_

"_That's not going to happen any time soon," Draco murmured._

"_Never," Pansy agreed. "I'm not even the right gender and you have your lover boy."_

"_He's not," Draco whispered sadly. "Don't think he'll ever be."_

"_Draco," Pansy started; Draco shook his head at his childhood friend._

"_I loved him for all these years, Pansy. Things aren't going to change in a blink of an eye."_

"_All these years?!" Pansy asked. "Years?!"_

_Draco looked down. "Yes. Years…"_

_

* * *

_**.: Friday, March 14, 1998 – 9:26 p.m. :. **

Everybody in the room was silent; Draco was the only one actually making sounds. He was snoring. Harry looked down at the coiled silver chain in his palm. It was for him… Draco got it for _him_.

_Oh, dear Merlin._

"He'll probably kill me for telling you guys all of this," Pansy said, shrugging. "But I think it would be better now that Draco… He's not like before." She smiled when Harry continued to stare down at the bracelet. "Put it on, Harry. I know it's not really a manly type of bracelet…"

"No! It's-it's beautiful…" Harry carefully moved his arm so that Draco wouldn't wake. "I'll wear it. I don't care if other people see it." With a determined look, Harry fastened the chain around his left wrist. "He… He likes me? Back then?" Harry asked; the information was now sinking in.

Pansy giggled and went back to sit next to Blaise. She sighed happily. "Make him happy, Potter. Or Blaise and I will hunt you down."

"Wow… Simply wow," Ron muttered. He cleared his throat and grinned. Harry returned the gesture. "Well, mate, guess it's alright for you to pursue him when Draco's seventeen again, eh?" He winked at Harry exaggeratedly, making Harry blush.

"This is great! Oh, Harry… Aren't you happy?" Hermione gushed. She was smiling ear to ear.

Draco chose this moment to sigh sleepily and rolled over to bury his face in Harry's arm. The green-eyed teen chuckled and carefully wrapped an arm around the blond.

"I think it's time for me to bring him to bed," Harry said softly.

Pansy nodded and fixed her jacket. "Yes, it's getting quite late. Thank you for having us over."

"Thank _you_ for telling me, Pansy," Harry returned. "Draco wouldn't have told me… At all. Then I wouldn't have known…"

"I'm just glad his feelings are returned," Blaise said to Harry. "He doesn't have to be sad all the time now… Like how he was whenever he looked at you. But back then I didn't know why…"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his voice tight.

"Draco watches you from afar, watching the one person he thought he could never have," Pansy answered. "And it killed him inside."

Harry nodded numbly. Here he thought he was the only one thinking about not having the person he loved. Draco was the same.

The Slytherins stood up. The Gryffindors followed suit, except Harry who had Draco sleeping on him.

"We'll see ourselves out. Goodnight." Pansy waved at the Gryffindors; Blaise did the same. The portrait slid close after they were gone.

"Harry, you should go to bed," Hermione said softly. She was worried about her friend. It was a lot of information to take in. "Draco's going to end up with a sore neck tomorrow."

The brunet mumbled something and stood up, with Draco being carried bridal style. He glanced down at the sleeping boy and smiled lovingly. Harry caught sight of the bracelet and smiled. His friends saw the smile and looked at each other knowingly. Ron let out a huge yawn and stretched.

"I think I'm going to turn in as well," Ron said. "Harry, you can get the bathroom first."

"Shit… Draco still needs to shower," Harry muttered and hurried over to his own room. When the door closed behind him, Hermione let out a small laugh.

"Did you see how sappy his smile was?"

Ron snorted. "Of course I did. I'm not blind."

"I really thought Draco was silly for acting like that. Harry wouldn't _hate_ him. Hate is too strong, more like dislike. I think our friend had stop disliking and started liking and blushing ever since… probably fifth year." Hermione tilted her head. "It's been a long time."

"They're both stupid," Ron said lightly; Hermione arched an eyebrow at him, challengingly. "What? Draco should've just given the bracelet to Harry and if Harry _really_ didn't like the gift, he could always return it. Harry isn't the type of guy that would throw something away."

"Ah, you're missing the point, Ron," Hermione said; she walked by Ron and patted his shoulder. "They hardly spoke to each other. When they did, it was always yelling and fighting about something. Like Pansy said, there were other Slytherins to worry about. The not-so-nice ones."

"Don't forget about our House," Ron muttered. "Some gossips and spreads rumors like wildfires. Parkinson's right; it would be a mess if people knew Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter liked each other."

"We'll just take things step by step," Hermione said; she went into her room. "I'm going to read for awhile. I'll take a bath last."

"Step by step… Huh." Ron scratched his head and made his way to his room. "As if they'll do things slowly. Harry is… clueless most of the time and Draco is the impatient type. Pfft, once Draco's back to normal, things would be weird."

* * *

Draco smiled in his sleep and turned his body. When his hand slapped against a pillow, he slowly woke up. Where was Harry?

He struggled to open his eyes; a hand was placed on his cheek, stroking softly. Draco groaned a pried his eyes open.

"Harry…?"

"You fell asleep. Pansy and Blaise left not too long ago and I thought you would be better sleeping on a bed than on me," Harry explained to the sleepy teen.

"Am I…?" Draco croaked; he could see outlines of things in the room. "Am I in your room?"

"Yeah." Harry was propped up by his elbow and was lying next to Draco. "Your bed isn't big enough for me to be here, watching you sleep."

Draco let out a small yawn and wiggled his way closer to the warmth of Harry's body. "Can I stay here?"

Harry laughed and carded his fingers through Draco's hair. "You need to take a shower and aren't you too old to sleep with me?"

Good thing the room was dark for Draco blushed deeply. "Uh… But-but your bed is comfy…"

"Shower first, and then we'll see," Harry smiled, "not that I really mind with you sleeping here. The bed's big enough for us. I'll try not to roll over and land on top of you." Harry laughed softly and lay there on his back. "You slept here when you were younger, remember?"

Draco giggled and nodded. "It was Christmas… I wanted to see Santa." Draco pushed himself up and looked into Harry's face. They were really close to each other. Draco's heart pounded furiously within his chest.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"… Never mind. I'll go get my pajamas and shower."

* * *

**.: Sunday, March 16, 1998 – 10:38 a.m. eleven years and two months :.**

"Merlin, that snitch is still Draco's favorite toy," Hermione laughed as Draco ran by her, Harry, and Ron.

Harry chuckled and absently started plucking the newly grown grass. It was Sunday and a beautiful one at that. The sun was out, birds were singing, small animals were out and about again. All in all, the day was stunning. He watched as the blond caught the snitch easily. Draco was much taller now and catching the flying golden ball was no problem. Occasionally, the ball would fly away from Draco's grasp. That was all Harry's doing, though.

_Smirk._

Harry had set the snitch to be easy at some moments and hard to catch at others. Maybe Harry enjoyed watching Draco Malfoy hop around.

"Mione, he _is _a Seeker for the Slytherin team," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Giving him a snitch was a great idea. Way better than that set of books you got for him for Christmas."

Hermione smacked Ron upside his head. "Books are good for him, Ron. You gave him sweets! Do you want Draco to have rotten teeth? The seventeen year old wouldn't forgive you, even if he promised to be nice to us."

Harry laughed merrily and threw a handful of plucked grass at nothing in particular. "Guys, don't worry. Draco told me he liked both of your gifts." Harry gave Hermione and Ron a wink and then waggled his eyebrows.

Ron gagged and pretended to choke while Hermione sighed and shook her head.

"No, really; Draco read the books," Harry assured the girl.

"… Yeah! I read them," Draco yelled from where he was chasing the snitch. "I think a book talked about plants… Or flowers." Draco yelled and jumped up, his hand enclosing the snitch. "Got it! Record time!"

"It took you five minutes, love," Harry called out. He smirked when Draco stuck his tongue out at him. "Real mature, Draco."

"I am!" Draco declared haughtily.

Hermione covered her mouth and hid her smile. They were like two big kids. She cleared her throat and dropped her hand and instead, smoothed her hand over the grass they were sitting on.

"They're plants that are used in potions," Hermione said, even though Draco was running around again. "I know you like potions so I got you those books."

"Yeah—" jump "—potions is—" hop "—my favorite!" The snitch flew away from Draco's hand. The blond huffed and stopped jumping. He stomped over to the three older teens and frowned at Harry. "Mum… Call it back; I'm tired."

Harry held out his hand and in an instant, the snitch zoomed to his hand. He gave the gold ball to Draco.

"You like calling me that just to make fun of me, aren't you?" Harry asked; Draco looked up and shook his head.

"No… I just… got use to it," Draco muttered and plopped down on the grass. "You said you didn't mind." He looked away from Harry.

Harry furrowed his brows and immediately felt stupid for saying such things. Hermione elbowed him and Ron let out a loud cough. Harry rolled his eyes; his friends were _so_ subtle.

"Draco, I didn't mean… I'm sorry," Harry apologized. "I just thought you wouldn't want to call me that so much now."

"Like I said, I got use to calling you mum instead of your name," Draco murmured.

"Oh, come here, you." Harry held out his arms. Draco turned to look at the brunet shyly. When Harry smiled wider, Draco threw himself into Harry's arms. "You'll always be my little boy, no matter if you're a teen now and is getting your memories back piece by piece.

"You can call me mum or Harry. I don't care."

Draco looked up at him with slight uncertainty. "Really? You're not going to be angry at me?"

Ron and Hermione wisely stayed silent. They even shifted away from the two boys.

"No, Draco… Since the day you were placed in my arms… I told myself I would be your 'mother'. You were the cutest baby… You were mine."

Grey eyes widened and then they returned to their normal size. "Yes, yours. You are mine, too."

Hermione gasped and Ron goggled. Harry kept his calm, or tried to at least.

"Draco…?"

"The first time I saw you, back when we were _both_ eleven. When I saw you at Madam Malkin's… I wanted you to be mine." Draco buried his face into Harry's chest. "But you didn't like me and didn't take my friendship…

"I was so mad at you. I hated you and Ron then… How I hated you both.

"… I liked you, the very first time I saw you, Harry. I felt something in my heart… and I just knew."

Harry would have fallen on the ground if he wasn't sitting on it already. Draco wasn't talking anymore, but Harry had heard enough to know. Pansy had told them Draco liked him for years, but didn't say how many. Harry had thought it was two to three years, tops. But since their first year?

_It had been _that_ long._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: La la la… -puts on a helmet to block off thrown things- :O

Thanks for reading! :D


	19. Chapter 19: As Time Goes By

A/N: Hmm… It's been almost a month since I updated this story. I apologize. I've been really busy with schoolwork and such. This is college life :P I hope this chapter is to your liking… :D

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

As Draco 'age', he will grow to love Harry more, probably to the level when he was seventeen and was harboring a huge crush on our sweet Harry Potter. This will get awkward.

**Warning: Sweet, pure fluff. You know you love the fluffiness. Lovesick!Draco **

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**Chapter 19**

_**As Time Goes By**_

**.: Monday, March 26, 1998 – 7:48 a.m. twelve years old :.**

Draco stared at himself in the mirror. He frowned and raked his fingers through his hair. He knew he used to gel his hair back when he was twelve the first time around. He would always spend at least an hour on making his hair perfectly swept back, making his forehead stick out. Pansy and Blaise used to make fun of him. They told him his hairstyle made him look uptight. Now, staring at the bathroom mirror, Draco pulled his blond hair back, and shuddered. How true his friends' words were.

He certainly did not look good with all of his hair pulled back. Why in the world did he do it back then?

"What the hell was wrong with me?" Draco used his hands and mussed up his hair. He smiled when the tresses fell, framing his face. It was better now that his hair was messy. "Gone is the old Draco, and in with the new." Draco beamed at his reflection. He squinted at himself in the mirror. "Harry is a bad influence on me… Oh well," Draco chuckled, "Harry's hair looks like this… and I think it's really nice…" Draco then smiled goofily at the mirror and ran his hand through his messed up hair again.

His happy moments were cut short when three rapid knocks sounded.

"Draco? Get your arse out of the bathroom! You've been in there for almost an hour!" Harry yelled from the other side. "I need to shave and brush my teeth! I'm going to be late for Snape's class."

"Hold on! I'm almost ready," Draco replied. He quickly pulled on his jumper, donned his black trousers, and put on his socks. When he opened the door, Harry was standing there, hands on his hips.

"Took you long enough," Harry muttered.

Harry smiled when all Draco did was grin at him. Even though the blond was only twelve, he was almost as tall as Harry. It was probably only a five inch difference.

"It's totally your fault for not waking up at seven," Draco said; he padded out of the bathroom. "What do you want for breakfast?" He asked, giving Harry a brief hug around his waist.

"Uh… Pancakes are fine," Harry replied; he returned the gesture and held the smaller teen.

Draco pulled back and smiled at Harry. "Alright, do hurry up or I might just leave without you." Draco flapped his hand at Harry before walking down the hall. Harry was left staring at Draco's back as the younger teen turned and went into the kitchen. Harry sighed softly and went into the bathroom and did his morning routines.

Ever since that day when Draco blurted out that he liked Harry for years, the blond seemed more… hesitant around Harry. He no longer gave Harry bear hugs, no more surprise kisses on his lips—although Draco still gave Harry kisses on his cheeks—and Draco had stopped calling Harry, 'mum'.

It was easy to say that Harry missed all of those things. Sure, Draco was growing older, but Harry was used to being called 'mum' and received kisses every now and then. But who was he to say that Draco was more hesitant? Harry himself felt awkward around Draco. Malfoy was getting older and in turn was beginning to look more and more like his seventeen year old self. Perhaps it was a good thing they no longer kissed and hugged freely. They needed to be more restrained.

Harry took off his pajama top and shucked it into the hamper. His eyes fell onto the glittering bracelet. Draco's Valentine's Day gift for him. Harry was glad Pansy didn't throw the bracelet away like Draco asked her to. He was also very grateful that the girl returned it to him, the rightful owner. So far, Draco hadn't seen the silver chain.

Harry stroked the cool silver with his fingertip and plucked at the delicate chain. It was truly a beautiful bracelet and not girly at all. Harry brought his wrist up and placed a gentle kiss on the metal.

His first true present from Draco—it didn't matter that it was from the past—and Harry loved it.

* * *

"Hurry! Professor Snape's going to be furious if _we_ run into class late!" Draco urged Harry to walk fast; Harry grumbled and picked up his strides.

"He won't be mad at you," Harry muttered; he huffed when Draco started jogging down the corridor. "Wait up! We still have five more minutes!"

On Mondays, Harry had double potions _first_, instead of having it after Charms. It was just Mondays and Harry didn't understand why it was like this at all.

"Doesn't matter! I don't want him to take points away from Slytherins!"

Harry's hand shot out and took hold of Draco's arm, stopping the younger teen. Draco turned around and frowned at Harry.

"Snape is not going to take away points, Draco," Harry said. "You're still… de-aged; technically you're not _really_ his double Advance Potions student. Besides, Snape never takes points from Slytherins. Especially not from you; you are his favorite student and I doubt that changed even though you're de-aged."

Draco sighed and nodded, laughing softly. "I forgot for a moment…" He smiled at Harry. "I was so excited; I'm twelve now… This was the time when I first started to get really interested in Potions.

"In our first year, I didn't like potions at all. I thought that it was disgusting and vile; they all looked so slimy. But… as we got further in into the year, I realized how some potions were so useful, not to mention they give the brewer challenges; I love the challenge." Draco looked away and stared ahead. "They can help us feel better, heal us in ways beyond our imagination… Poison someone, or kill. But I never brewed a Dark potion so don't worry; I just read about them," Draco added quickly when Harry let out a small gasp. "And of course, it can make one turn younger."

Harry laughed and let go of Draco's arm. "Well, I never learned to like it. Snape's always watching me and yells when I do something wrong."

They started walking again; the classroom was just a few feet away. Draco sidled closer to the taller teen, his arm brushing against Harry's. Harry noticed and blushed; Draco was warm and when his skin touched his, it sent a tingle shooting up Harry's arm.

When they walked inside the dungeon, Harry still felt warm in his cheeks. It was even more so when Draco took his hand and guided him to an empty table. Snape saw them walk in; Draco and Harry were the last ones. Just as he was going to take away points from Gryffindor, Draco scowled at the professor. Snape arched an eyebrow at him.

"Don't, Professor," Draco started, "it wasn't Harry's fault. I woke up late this morning and made him late." Draco then smiled charmingly at the potions Master. "Also, you can't take points from me since I'm not _really_ your student. Not right now, anyway."

Snape spluttered at the blond and then sneered at Harry. "Potter, take out your book and turn to page two hundred and twelve. Copy down the notes on the board and start making your potion immediately." Snape growled when Harry just stared at him. "Hop to it, Potter!" Snape barked; Harry jumped and quickly took out his book.

Snape turned, his cloak billowing behind him as he walked to the front desk. Harry let out a long, wary breath and opened to page two hundred and twelve. When he heard Draco snickering, Harry turned and gave Draco a lopsided smile.

"Why did you tell him that it was you that woke up late?"

Draco stopped snickering and smiled shyly at Harry when he saw the green-eyed teen looking at him. Those green eyes were so intense.

"It _was_ sort of my fault for taking so long in the bathroom…"

Harry grinned and patted Draco's hand; Malfoy's face heated up.

"Thanks, Draco." Harry patted once more before looking at the front of the room, writing down the notes on the board onto a piece of parchment.

Draco made sure that Harry's attention was not on him. He brought his hand to his chest and held it there. He smiled dreamily.

His hand felt warm where Harry touched him.

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"Sir, if you will, may I request to be Harry's partner for today?" Draco asked. Snape gawked at his de-aged student. He had just put Potter with Goyle.

"Draco, not that I doubt your abilities, but you…" Snape muttered uncertainly; Draco shook his head.

"I know I'm not part of this class, but I want to help Harry," Draco said determinedly. "He isn't going to do well if you yell at him for little things such as stirring twice more than he had to."

"But Goyle—"

"Goyle can work with somebody else," Draco stated. "Please, Sir, let me work with Harry."

Snape sighed tiredly and shook his head. "Do whatever you want, Draco. If Potter still manages to botch up his potion…"

"He won't," Draco said. He looked at the professor with steady eyes.

"Very well. You both have an hour to finish brewing the Skele-Gro."

Draco was grinning ear to ear as Snape walked away, inspecting other people. Harry was still shocked; he gingerly closed his potions textbook and pushed that aside. Standing up from his stool, he memorized all the ingredients needed for making the Skele-Gro.

"I was worried that I would have to work with Goyle," Harry mumbled. "I wouldn't have finished; he's as bad as I am." He then turned to Draco, smiling. "This would be my first time working with you since you were turned. Are you as good as you were when you were seventeen?" Harry asked jokingly.

Draco huffed and pushed Harry in the direction to the ingredients cabinets. "I'll have you know that my brewing skills were superb when I was twelve. I only got better, by a slight margin."

Harry laughed and started gathering the bottles and jars. "I was just wondering; don't need to get offended."

Draco cuffed Harry's arm. "No more talking; Professor Snape's looking at us."

Harry turned, and indeed, Snape was glaring at him and Draco.

"He's probably fuming, thinking that I brainwashed you somehow during these few months."

Draco chuckled and helped Harry hold some jars. "I'm not brainwashed; I'm changed for the better. No more cruel Draco Malfoy."

Harry smiled knowingly to himself. He knew all about how Draco pretended to be mean and heartless. It was all a show for his House. And of course for Harry so that he wouldn't know he liked him.

Deep down, Draco Malfoy was just a boy who loved someone so much, so much that he did all he could to protect Harry and himself.

* * *

"Steady…" Draco murmured. Harry gulped and carefully dropped a salamander tail into the bubbling cauldron. "Don't drop it; don't make any splashes. This is very important."

Harry nodded nervously. Fuck, his hand was shaking.

"Harry, it's alright. Once the tip of the tail is in, you can let the whole thing slide down," Draco said soothingly.

"I've botched up Skele-Gro before," Harry muttered. "Snape had never written that the tail had to be put in carefully. We made this last year and I just dropped the tail in, making a splash." The tip of Harry's tongue poked out as he slid the red tail into the potion. "So of course there was a small explosion," Harry said; he let the rest of the tail go into the potion. "Guess who my partner was?"

Draco nodded with approval as the tail melted into the boiling liquid. The red spread slowly and a few seconds later, the whole thing turned purple.

"Was it me?" Draco speculated. "I am quite sure I screamed and threatened you."

"Hah! You got that right," Harry chuckled, "the explosion made the failed potion splash everywhere. The black gunk was very difficult to wash off… You knew that of course and it didn't help at all when some landed in your hair."

"Ah, that would do it," Draco mused. He took the glass rod Harry was holding and stirred the cauldron contents.

"Yeah… The next day I noticed you cut off some of your hair. It was shorter," Harry said, smiling at the memory. "The first thing you said to me was that I was lucky the black junk didn't land on your skin or else you would singe off _my_ skin." Harry laughed some more. It was pretty funny now that he thought about it.

"You noticed my hair was shorter?" Draco asked; he looked at Harry with wide eyes. "You actually noticed something minor as that?" He wasn't stirring anymore. When the potion started sizzling, Draco quickly moved the rod in a circular motion.

"Uhm… Yeah. I-I did," Harry stuttered.

Draco looked down, his hair covering his face. He smiled shyly at the cauldron, not letting Harry see him.

"Let's just say I look at you a lot…" Harry cleared his throat.

"I see…" Draco felt like giggling out loud.

"Anyways, you were furious and demanded that you didn't want to partner up with me again."

"Well, let's just make sure this time the Skele-Gro won't blow up," Draco said softly. He reached out and found Harry's hand, held it for two seconds, and let go. "Can you hand me the lacewing flies?"

Harry flushed. _He's only twelve, Harry. Only twelve! _"Yeah, okay."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"That must've been the first time Snape praised you, mate!" Ron said, clapping Harry's back.

Harry nodded happily at the redheaded teen. "It was! Did you see his face? It was like he ate something sour."

Hermione giggled. "He couldn't say you did a bad job. The Skele-Gro was flawless."

"All thanks to Draco," Harry chirped. "He's great at potions and helped me a lot." He ruffled Draco's hair affectionately.

Draco preened under Harry's praise and leaned closer to Harry's touch. He was so use to Harry ruffling his hair when he was younger that his reaction was automatic. He did not notice the way Ron and Hermione were smirking or the way Harry was smiling down warmly at him. Draco had his eyes closed and was enjoy the touch.

"Draco…" Harry said softly. The blond was so cute this way. Totally different than the Draco from back then.

"Hmm?" Draco opened his eyes and found that he had somehow put his head on Harry's shoulder and was still walking. "Oh…" His face turned crimson.

"It's alright," Harry said good-naturedly.

"Sorry about that, Harry," Draco mumbled.

"Don't worry about it."

Harry then did something that shocked both himself and Draco. He leaned down and kissed the top of Draco's head. The blond let out a small squeak and Harry groaned.

"Oh, Harry, always the caring mother," Hermione joked.

_Come on, floor. Open up and swallow me._ Harry glared at the ground.

Draco bit his lips to stop himself from laughing. "Stop it, Hermione. Don't tease him."

"And you, Draco, is always protecting the person you love," Ron added cheekily. "I still remember when you told us you wanted Harry to be yours." He grinned when Draco tried to aim a kick at him.

"Guys, you are making us feel like we had our faces buried in hot sand," Harry whined. He looked to the side at Draco and nodded. "Let's go, we don't have to take this."

Draco laughed and hooked his arm with Harry's. They walked ahead, leaving Ron and Hermione snickering and giggling behind them. Harry was calm now and Draco still had his arm linked with the taller teen's.

"I meant it."

"Meant what, Draco?"

"I-I really did like you. I think… I _know_ I still fancy you when I was seventeen. Malfoys never give up on something they wanted.

"I know myself, Harry. Once I have my eyes on something, I will get it. Once I like someone, then that person will be the only one.

"I set my eyes on you. I never liked anybody else. You can say that I'm still young or whatever, but I know."

Harry sighed. "I know."

"You know?"

"I know your seventeen year old self still liked me," Harry clarified.

"How…?" Draco murmured. Hermione and Ron had stopped talking; they were listening intently.

"I'll tell you when you're older, when our age difference isn't so great."

"You don't think this… You don't mind that I like you? Even now? Back then?"

"I would be lying to myself, Draco, if I told you I think it's disgusting. I understand why you were so nasty to us. The older you, not right now," Harry said to Draco. He pulled the blond closer. "Never think I would hate you. I don't, I can't."

Draco remained silent.

"You have great friends, Draco. They understand you, they stand by you, and most of all they protected you from others.

"They even protected you from me."

They were getting closer to Professor Flitwick's class. When they were outside, Harry nodded at Hermione and Ron, telling them to go inside first.

Draco leaned against the stone wall and looked down at his shoes. "They are good friends, Pansy and Blaise. I didn't trust people. I remember those times. My father always taught me to trust no one.

"When I came to Hogwarts, I didn't make friends. I stuck with Pansy and Blaise. I thought… I didn't need anybody else. But then there's you. I wanted you but you pushed me away." Draco looked at Harry with sad eyes. "But you were right to refuse me; I was such a bastard back then."

"But you didn't give up. You only put on masks to protect yourself, not because you really wanted to do me harm," Harry murmured.

"How did you—"

"Just remember I will explain everything once you're back to normal."

"O-okay…" Draco sniffed. "You really don't hate me?"

"No, Draco. I don't."

Draco nodded to himself and stood up straight. He looked at Harry in the eye and smiled shyly. Harry blinked at the sudden change of facial expression.

"You're a great person, Harry." Draco took a step closer to Harry. "So nice and kind…"

Harry stared unwaveringly at the blond. Draco stopped; their noses were almost touching.

Malfoy smiled wider and whispered, "Thank you."

Draco leaned in, Harry closed his eyes…

_Oh god… Should pull away… but…_

_He loves me and I…_

Their lips met.

_Love him._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Wahah! –runs around, hair is on fire- They kissed! :P –snaps pictures- Better hurry to class, Harry, or you are going to be late! ;x Harry is not a pedophile. It's not like I had them make out in the middle of a hallway :) It could just be a friendly kiss and you wouldn't know. ;D

Thanks for reading! :D


	20. Chapter 20: Inner Turmoil

A/N: No school for me on Monday so that's why I can update this. Many of you were jumpy after where I ended in the last chapter, their 'friendly' kiss ;D Let's see what happens, shall we?

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

Oh, before I forget… Happy belated Valentine's Day! :D –sends out singing plushy hearts-

**Warning: Inappropriate thoughts. **

_**Blah: bad Harry**_**  
**_-blah-: good Harry_

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**Chapter 20**

_Inner Turmoil_

**.: Monday, March 26, 1998 – 12:09 p.m. twelve years old :.**

The moment Harry felt Draco's lips on his, he was in heaven. He vaguely noticed that Draco's lips were soft and his kiss was deep… and then Harry wondered how Draco could kiss so well when he was only twelve…

-_Stop this at once! He's still younger than you. Move away before somebody sees!-_

_**Shut up! We've been waiting for this! Can't let this opportunity slip away! It was Draco that came up to me.**_

_-What if people see us and think I'm a child molester or something?!-_

_**Child molester? Draco's only five years off. Besides, he's really seventeen.**_

_-Well, he's not seventeen right _now_, is he?-_

_**I love him, and he obviously fancies me… It's just a kiss. Nothing wrong with that.**_

_-Nothing wrong? Pfft.-_

Harry groaned inwardly. It was pathetic; he was arguing with himself.

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Draco whimpered; the kiss felt so right. He had been dreaming about how it would feel like if he kissed the person of his desires. And Harry was actually answering his kiss. Draco must thank whoever was watching over him later.

At first, all Draco wanted was to give Harry a thank-you kiss, but then his feelings got the best of him and he lingered. Taking advantage of the situation - ever the Slytherin he was – Draco took more, but not to the point where he would make Harry uncomfortable. Draco half expected for Harry to shove him away… but he did not. He put more feeling into their kiss tentatively and was surprised when Harry still didn't pull away. Just as Draco wanted to pull the slightly taller teen closer, there was a shocked gasp.

It didn't come from Harry… Oh. Shit.

"Harry… Draco… What-what are you guys…" Hermione stammered. She was standing by the doorway, eyes wide with surprise and part amusement. "You two…"

_No!_ Harry screamed in his head. He pushed Draco away and turned to face his friend. Draco stumbled backwards and blushed fiercely.

"Hermione… We-we… It's not…" Harry tried to explain but words failed him. Hermione shook her head, her hands on her hips. "It was—"

"I saw what I saw, Harry. But now it's not the time to explain; Professor Flitwick is inside and class is about to start," Hermione said firmly; she gave Harry a look that meant she wanted a full explanation later. She then turned to Draco, who was looking to the side where a painting was hanging, refusing to look at either Harry or Hermione. "And Draco, take deep breaths before you come into class. Your face is beet red."

Draco's head turned away from the painting and looked at Hermione like a deer caught in headlights. He nodded jerkily.

"Good." Hermione spun on her feet and went inside, leaving the two boys.

Harry sighed wearily. "Let's go, Draco."

Draco, hearing the detached tone, was instantly worried. He went up and took Harry's hand, making the dark-haired teen look down at him.

"Harry… It's my fault… Please, don't hate me. I-I… Don't be mad…" Draco whimpered. He gripped Harry's hand harder, his fingertips digging into the soft skin.

"It's not your fault," Harry whispered. He gave Draco a soft smile. "I'm not mad at you nor do I hate you. I could've pulled away, but I didn't. I should be the one apologizing. I took advantage—"

"No!" Draco shook his head. "You did nothing wrong… I was the one that couldn't control my emotions."

"Draco…"

"I'm really sorry, Harry," Draco apologized. "I'll tell Hermione everything if I have to. I could tell she wanted an explanation; I saw it on her face."

Harry nodded and gently pulled his hand away from Draco's hold. "We should go in. You and I have lots to talk about, Draco. We have to solve some issues between us."

"O-okay…"

Draco looked down again. There were tears swimming in his eyes and he was trying his hardest to hold them back. He couldn't let Harry see him cry over something like this. Harry would probably stay away from him from now on.

Harry saw how utterly dejected Draco was; he put his arm around Draco's shoulder and guided the blond towards the doorway.

"It's alright, Draco; don't be like this." Draco only shook his head. "Look, I'll tell you something. I…" _I enjoyed the kiss. If only it was the seventeen year old I was kissing. _"… I didn't mind that you kissed me."

Draco's breath hitched and stopped walking. He searched Harry's face for lies, but found none. Harry was telling the truth. A small, hesitant smile spread across Draco's face.

"You don't…?"

"Mhmm, but that doesn't mean we should… you know—" Harry gestured between himself and Draco, "—do this again."

Draco nodded, agreeing with what Harry said. "Just as long I didn't ruin things between us. I like you Harry. I like you as a friend and… more. You know that."

"We'll talk later; let's go." Harry pushed Draco through the door, walking behind him with both hands on Draco's shoulders. Harry caught Pansy staring at him; she was sitting near the front of the class next to some other Slytherin.

Harry released Draco's shoulders and fell into step next to the younger teen. "I have a feeling we're going to be bombarded by girls later," Harry muttered. Draco chuckled softly and turned to an empty table, leading Harry to it.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Draco said as Harry took out his book and some parchment.

Harry scoffed and shook his head. "You're saying that because you were never drilled by Hermione before. Trust me; she's lethal."

Draco arched a delicate eyebrow at him. Harry smirked.

"Just you wait."

* * *

**.: Later - 1:26 p.m. :. **

"What were you thinking, Harry?"

"Draco, were you out of your freakin' mind?! What if some Slytherin saw you? Fuck!"

Draco and Harry sat across from the two agitated girls. Hermione was giving Harry 'the eye' while Pansy was red in the face, her brown eyes flashing with anger. The two teens sat there like a good little boy would, hands clasped together on top of their thighs; their faces were solemn.

If they laughed or let out a squeak that's close to a snicker, they would never hear the end of it.

Ron and Blaise, however, were standing near where Hermione and Pansy sat. They smirked at Harry as he was chided and warned. He scowled at them and sent them a glare. Of course, he had to do it discreetly or else Hermione would notice.

Damn that girl for having sharp eyes.

Right after Charms was over, Hermione had dragged Harry all the way back to their private quarters, with Pansy hot on their heels. Draco followed along, not that he had a choice since he was being dragged by Pansy. As the group made their way back, they passed by the Muggle Studies class, where Blaise was just coming out. He saw them, saw the girls' faces and followed quietly along. He knew better than to ask questions. When they were at the rooms, Ron was already inside. Harry had looked at the redheaded teen pleadingly. Ron opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Hermione; she told him to get his arse off the couch and sit somewhere else. Ron gulped, smiled apologetically at Harry, and got up. He and Blaise stood together, uncharacteristically quiet.

Hermione then pointed at the couch; Harry scrambled to the furniture and sat down. Pansy did the same thing for Draco; the blond followed her order and sat next to Harry.

Twenty minutes later, the girls were still going at it.

"Harry, Draco… You guys really should think about your actions before doing them," Hermione said exasperatedly. "Good thing the hall was empty since most students were in class. What would happen if they saw you lip-locked with Draco, Harry?" Hermione directed the question at the dark-haired teen.

Harry swallowed audibly. "I would be in deep trouble? Or I might be on the most wanted list…"

"Hell yes you would be in trouble!" Pansy fumed; Harry shrank back. She then turned her hard gaze at the blond. "Draco! I know you like Harry, but – oh, this is not good!" She stood up, went over to Draco and took his hand, pulling him off the couch. "Come with me." Pansy turned to Hermione. "Can I borrow one of the rooms? I need to talk to Draco – privately." Hermione blinked at her but gave her consent.

"You can use Draco's own room. It's the last one on the right."

Draco looked back at Harry while he was pulled along. He sent Harry a look. _Help me!_

Harry watched sadly and shook his head. Draco's lips trembled and turned away.

He's going to hear it from Pansy now.

* * *

"Sit." Pansy let go of Draco's hand. He sat down on his bed quietly, waiting for the girl to continue. She sat down next to him and stared straight ahead.

"Draco… There are some things that you should do, and some that you shouldn't," Pansy began. "Kissing Harry is one of those things. I don't care if you do it when you're back to normal, but now it's not a good time.

"We've been… Shit, we've known each other since we were babies. I've been like an older sister you never had; Blaise was like a doting brother. We were there with you, always, during school. As you and I both know, there are Slytherins… Well, let's just say there are those that would do anything to make a person suffer. And to them, you're just another person – even though you're in the same House as them. Not all have goodness in their hearts.

"I know and Blaise knows that you are just pretending to hate Harry; it's just a mask for others. I know you liked Harry since the first year."

Draco looked down at the floor and nodded. "It's not surprising, is it? I used to look at Harry all the time during dinner or lunchtime. I don't know if I still do it third year and so on, since I don't have those memories yet."

"Actually, I didn't find out until we were in sixth year. I've always thought you only started liking Harry at the start of sixth," Pansy told the blond. She turned to the left, only to find Draco ogling at her.

"What? Then why – How come you…"

"You told me yourself. You told me a lot…" Pansy trailed off. "You'll remember when the time comes. I don't want to say too much."

"What did I say to you that year?" Draco asked; he took Pansy's hand, gripped it. "Is it about Harry?"

"I'll just say that you revealed – to me – that you love him. Very much. For many years." Pansy patted their intertwined hands with her right hand.

"So I was right…" Draco smiled. "I knew I wouldn't let Harry go that easily."

"What do you mean, Draco?"

"I told Harry a Malfoy never gives up. Once I set my eyes on something or someone, I'll stick with them." Draco sighed and pried his hand away from Pansy. "Did you tell Harry about it?"

"About what?" Pansy asked, perplexed.

"Our conversation we had in sixth year," Draco answered. He felt Pansy shifting on his bed, a sign of nervousness for the witch. "You did, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," Pansy whispered.

"Ah… No wonder Harry said he knew." Draco fell back onto the bed, his hands folded behind his head.

"You're too smart for your own good, Dray," Pansy chided. _Now about the bracelet… _"Did you see Harry wearing anything special?"

"Special… No." Draco wrinkled his nose cutely. "All I see him wearing are his glasses. Gods, I wish he'd get rid of them."

"Oh… Never mind then," Pansy said softly. _He can find out on his own and let Harry do the explaining. I already said too much._ "Promise me, Draco, that you wouldn't do something so thoughtless again. Who knows what would happen?"

"I promise… Harry said so himself that we shouldn't do it again…" Draco turned to his side and laid there, his head propped up by his hand. "I'm worried he'll avoid me like a plague…"

Pansy did chuckle then; their conversation had turned to a lighter topic. "He won't. Harry isn't like that."

Draco hummed. "Yeah, he's not."

* * *

"Harry James Potter! If you had half a mind, you wouldn't let that kiss continue!"

Harry tried giving Hermione the puppy-eyes look. It didn't work.

"Oh no, that won't work on me. Only you, Harry, when Draco does it," Hermione frowned, "it's not going to let you off the hook so you can stop trying."

Harry let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, Mione! I – I know I should've pulled away or something… But my – it was so… right."

"You have it bad, mate," Ron said; he coughed when Hermione glared at him. "Yeah, bad Harry! Should've pulled away."

"Shut up, Ron," Harry mumbled.

"Yes, Ronald, please try to keep your mouth shut for now," Blaise said mock-sternly. Ron shoved him away.

"Blaise, you are not helping either," Hermione said curtly. "Anyways, Harry…"

Harry held up his hand at the girl. "I know, alright?! I was stupid and wrong and obviously not thinking with my head.

"Draco is still de-aged and he's still younger than me. I should have told him 'no'. I'm the older and more sensible one." Harry paused. "Er… I am supposed to control myself?"

"I didn't even say that, Harry!" Hermione cried. "But yes, you should.

"We all know – us that are here right now – that Draco fancied you since when he was eleven. He confessed by himself and we also heard the story from Pansy

"From the look of things, it is safe to say that Draco seriously harbored strong feelings for you," Hermione speculated. "I understand why he kissed you without hesitation. But Harry, with you being the sensible one, you could've moved away when you saw Draco closing in."

"You're taking his side!" Harry whined. "He said 'thank you' and leaned in! What was I suppose to do? Shove him away and make Draco fall on his arse? I don't think so! I didn't even know he would-would kiss me!" Harry crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Besides…" Harry looked away, a frown on his face, "I don't want to hurt him."

"That is very sweet of you, Harry, but for now – until things are sorted out – you really have to… I don't know… Not be so…" Hermione waved her hand around, trying to find the right words. "… Just don't do it again."

"Yeah… I know. I said the same thing to Draco; he understands," Harry whispered. "Merlin…" He sat back, his head hitting the back of the couch.

"What an _exciting _day."

* * *

**.: Evening – 10:21 p.m. :.**

"Do we have an agreement?"

Draco swallowed the lump in this throat; he watched as Harry puttered around in his room, trying to look for a pair of pajama bottoms.

_Why did he ask me to come in when he's half naked?! _Draco groaned to himself. _Harry's asking for it…_

"What was that?" Harry asked, still bent in half, looking through his drawer.

"Oh… Yes, we have an agreement." Draco rubbed his face with his hands tiredly. It had been a trying day.

"Alright, great," Harry said; he straightened and spun around, his right hand was holding a pair of black bottoms.

Draco, right at the exact moment, dropped his hands. His eyes widened as he raked in Harry's muscular form. Save for the small pooch of his abdomen. Draco thought the small belly was cute.

Slightly tanned skin from Quidditch; muscular arms, not too much so; hard pectoral muscles and somewhat long, muscular legs. Thank the gods that Harry was wearing a pair of boxers. Draco's eyes then landed on a silver chain on Harry's wrist. He never saw it before... Just then, Harry put one leg up and Draco licked his lips and looked away.

_Shit. Good thing I wore loose pants!_

"Draco?" Harry asked; he was hopping around as he tried to put on his sleeping pants. "You look a bit flushed."

"I'm fine. Yep. Totally," Draco replied brokenly. "I'll uh… I think I'll go to sleep now." Draco nodded to himself and got off of Harry's bed.

Harry chuckled as he tied the strings to his pants. He padded up to Draco and gave the teen a goodnight hug.

"Sweet dreams, Draco," Harry whispered. He bit his lip, hesitated for a moment before deciding to do it anyway. Harry swooped down and kissed the top of Draco's head. At least it wasn't his lips.

Draco's eyes fluttered close as Harry's lips descended upon his head. He sighed softly and buried his nose in Harry's naked chest. It seemed neither noticed Harry wasn't wearing a shirt.

"G'night, Harry…" Draco whispered.

He pulled away and left the room, walking slightly uncomfortably because of a problem in his nether regions.

The appearance of the silver bracelet was forgotten.

* * *

Hands. Feathery soft touches ghosting across his heated skin. Those were the things Draco felt even in his sleeping state. He moaned softly and tried to force his eyes to open. When he did, he was greeted with the greenest of green. Jade green. Emeralds. Harry's eyes. Draco gasped and was awake. Harry was hovering above him, a small smile etched on his handsome face. The glasses were gone, thus showing his eyes' true color. Draco parted his lips; he gaped at the young man above him and reached out to touch.

He was met with solid mass and warm skin.

Oh. My. God.

"Harry…?" Draco asked hoarsely, his voice still husky from hours of sleep. "W-what are you doing here?"

_Is this a dream?_

"I'm here to watch you sleep," Harry whispered; he dropped down next to Draco, spooning the smaller teen. "You are beautiful when you're asleep." Harry brushed his hand on Draco's cheek, putting his hair behind his ears. "Very peaceful."

Draco blushed and turned to Harry's touches. He rolled to his side and was looking at Harry face to face.

_Please. Please don't let this be a dream…_

"Harry… I thought we said… This is beyond kissing, you know," Draco murmured. He reached out and cupped Harry's face tenderly. He dreamt of doing this since he was eleven and now…

"I know. I am here on my own free will," Harry smiled, "don't make too much noise and nobody would notice."

"This is surreal…" Draco breathed; his eyes fluttered close, not to sleep, but because Harry had closed in. He stopped breathing when Harry kissed him softly.

_I'm so not dreaming._

"This is _very_ real, Draco," Harry murmured.

When Harry snaked his hand between their bodies, Draco froze. He stared into the green eyes, only to be stared back at. Harry chuckled at the confused look Draco was giving him.

"Just be very silent…" Harry's hand went lower. "Don't make any sounds and we'll be fine. Sod Hermione and her warnings. We're old enough to make our own decisions. We don't have to listen to them." Harry smirked as his hand wrapped around Draco's throbbing flesh. "Give yourself to me, to our love, Draco."

_Feels too good to be a dream…_

"Yes… Yes," Draco choked out; his hips pressed forward, wanting Harry to move his hand.

"Now, now… You don't want this to end too early, do you?" Harry asked. Draco shook his head. He let out a gasp when Harry rolled him onto his back and then Harry settled between his spread legs.

_Don't stop…_

Draco whimpered when Harry's hand disappeared, but when a different type of warmth surrounded him, Draco cried out happily. He looked down to find Harry sucking on the head of his cock, his tongue licking the underside of his throbbing member.

"Close your eyes, Draco, and enjoy…" Harry then went back to his job.

Draco wanted to scream but remembered that Harry asked him to stay quiet. He clamped his mouth shut, biting down into the soft flesh his lip. He was breathing through his nose; it felt wonderful down there… Harry was doing a wicked job.

Draco shut his eyes in pure pleasure; Harry had taken more of him into his mouth. The suction was too much and the blond felt close to completion.

Just as he was about to explode, Harry pulled away with a small 'pop'. Draco almost wailed.

"Why – What are you…?"

Harry didn't answer him. Actually, it was very quiet…

"Har –"

DMDMDM

Draco cried out, spurting all over his own hand. He opened his eyes, chest heaving as he came down from his orgasmic high. He groaned and pulled his hand out from under his pants; it was covered with a coat of white semen. Somehow, during his sleep, he had snuck his hand down and stroked himself. With thoughts on a naked Harry.

The dream felt so real that Draco almost cried. He really thought Harry was right there with him. Kissing him and touching him. It was all so real…

Sighing, Draco wiped his hand on his pants. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and sat up. He wasn't going to sleep in a pair of pants that was wet with his release.

After changing into a fresh pair, Draco flopped back down onto his bed, pulled his blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes.

"Go to sleep. Don't think about it." Draco rolled onto his stomach and groaned into his pillow. "Harry's just right across the hall!"

Draco forced himself to sleep. The last thought before he drifted off was about how handsome Harry was in his dream without his glasses on.

The glasses had to go.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Hehehe…! I hope I didn't confuse you… The part of Harry in Draco's bed was Draco's dream… :D Inappropriate thoughts, Draco! ;x

Thanks for reading :D


	21. Chapter 21: Distant Memories

A/N: Nothing much to say, but to tell you guys to enjoy this chapter :) About Draco having wet dreams at the age of twelve… I dunno… Don't boys go through puberty by that age? Wet dreams are normal, right?! xD Okay, I admit that the dream was a bit… wow. Haha. My excuse is that Draco is really a seventeen year old :O

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

Lovely weather I am having in Cali… -yells at the rain clouds-

**Warning: Mentioned Triwizard Tournament. This story is totally AU, so you shouldn't be surprised by that :P Pretend Voldemort doesn't exist; Diggory was killed by some other thing ;D Yes, I know I just messed everything up. **

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* * *

  
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**Chapter 21**

_Distant Memories_

**.: Sunday, April 9, 1998 – thirteen and one month years old :.**

_Nip. Suck. Nibble. Chew. _

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Across from him, Harry had his head down, his mouth busy chewing the tip of his quill. They were in the library, along with Hermione, Pansy, Ron, and Blaise. An hour ago, Hermione proposed that they should all head to the library and study for their upcoming N.E.W.T.S. Blaise and Pansy were invited by Hermione to dinner at Harry's private rooms, so naturally they were asked to go to the library as well.

The boys groaned and Pansy, surprisingly, agreed with Hermione. Draco knew how Hermione studied. It would be _hours_ before they could all leave the library.

He looked down and tried to continue with his book. Harry was distracting him with all that sucking…

After reading a rather short paragraph, Draco looked up again. Pansy and Hermione had their heads close together, both whispering about Charms. Blaise was scratching away on a piece of parchment, his other hand pressing down on a book about Astronomy. Ron, who was sitting next to Harry, had his face behind a book about aquatic plants.

Harry was still chewing his quill.

_Oh, gods._

The blond tried not to whimper; his voice was getting deeper and sometimes it cracks, making any whimpering or groans sound high or squeaky. One time, Draco was laughing when suddenly, he made a high pitched wheeze. Harry and Ron guffawed, but were later scolded by Hermione.

Draco sighed, bit his lip, and kicked Harry lightly on his shin. Harry jerked at the kick and glared at Draco; the blond smiled innocently at him.

"What was that for, Draco?" Harry griped. He then stuck out his tongue and tried to look down at it. "Ugh…"

Draco snorted and leaned forward. He stole a quick glance at Hermione; she was still whispering heatedly with Pansy.

"What's wrong with your tongue?" Harry looked up at him and Draco rolled his eyes. "Something is obviously wrong, or else you wouldn't have said 'ugh'." Draco mimicked Harry's earlier expression.

Harry pulled his tongue back. "Prat," Harry laughed softly, "the quill was on the rough side… I think I scratched my tongue."

"Do finish with your potions essay, Harry," Draco whispered, not wanting to draw attention to their table, "and stop biting your quill; it's frayed as it is."

"I'm trying to finish," Harry grumbled; he held his quill close to his mouth again. Biting the tip of his quill was a bad habit of Harry's. "I have two feet written, but Snape wants three feet and _nine_ inches. What is wrong with that man?" Harry did a half sneer and flipped through some pages of his Potions textbook. "I have to find the properties of sneezewort and what kinds of potions use that ingredient."

"They're usually used for Befuddlement Draughts," Hermione answered distractedly before going back to her argument with Pansy.

Harry arched an eyebrow at her and then went back to face Draco, who was craning his neck to read Harry's book. The green-eyed teen smiled and reached across the table, touching Draco's face. The blond reared back and blushed when Harry chuckled at his reaction.

"It's alright, Draco; I can find out more information myself," Harry said softly; he cleared his throat when Madam Pince walked by, behind Draco. He sighed when she was out of sight. "You don't have to stay here with us, Draco. I know this must be boring for you…"

"It's alright," Draco said, having calmed down a bit, his face no longer heated. "I'll stay with you… guys," Draco added the last word, not wanting to say that he was only staying because Harry was.

"Just tell me if you're tired. It _is_ getting rather late." Harry glanced at Hermione. "But, we're not leaving any time soon."

"Yes, _mum_," Draco said cheekily. Harry huffed and went back to his potions essay.

* * *

"Oh, fuck me…" Ron groaned as he trudged his way to his room. "That was the longest study session I've been to…"

"Mind your language, Ron," Hermione chided. She covered her mouth and let out a yawn. "Well, we did stay a bit more than usual, I'll give you that." She, too, walked to her room.

"A _bit_ more?" Ron asked incredulously. "We stayed there for four hours. It's midnight now!"

"Studying is good for us, Ronald," Hermione sniffed, "our exams are just around the corner. Goodnight, boys; I'll see you guys in the morning." She opened her bedroom door and went inside, turning in for the night.

"She's right; we need to study," Harry whispered; he wagged his head, trying to get the sleepiness out of his head. He looked to his side when he felt Draco leaning more and more against him. "Draco." Harry nudged him.

"Huh – wha?" Draco straightened himself. "Oh… Sorry about that. It's just that you stopped walking…" Draco cleared his throat and glared at the redhead, who was leaning against the wall and snickering at him. "Ron, stop snickering!"

Ron held up his hands and pushed himself off the wall. "I didn't mean to offend you; we're all tired. I don't blame you one bit for falling asleep, standing up." Ron flapped his hand at Harry and Draco. "Night, guys."

Draco grumbled. He then walked to the front of Harry and just stood there, his head tilted upward. Harry smiled lopsidedly at him.

"What is it?"

"No – Uh…" Draco scowled and then shrugged. "Just… Oh, bollocks." He went on his tippy toes and kissed Harry on his cheek. "Goodnight!" Draco blurted out and rushed to his room, leaving Harry staring at the boy who was quickly making his way to his bedroom.

"Goodnight, Draco!" Harry called out just before the door to Draco's room slammed shut. He laughed when he heard a muffled, frustrated cry from behind the door. "Silly kid…"

* * *

**.: Tuesday, April 11, 1998 – thirteen and three months years old :.**

"You don't flick your wrist like that, Harry," Hermione informed, frowning, "you make a circular motion, and then a quick slash from upper left to lower right side." Hermione demonstrated on a piece of paper. In an instant, one sheet became two. "That's how you duplicate things."

Harry sighed and pulled his piece of scrap paper closer to him. Draco was sniggering next to him. "Not funny, Draco." Harry smiled when Draco cleared his throat and picked up his book, pretending to read.

"Sorry."

Harry rolled his eyes and then glared down at the paper. He made the circular motion with his wrist and slashed at the paper. A puff of smoke appeared and Harry gaped when all his spell did was making a burnt mark right in the middle of the paper.

"Oh. My. God," Harry muttered.

Draco was peeking at Harry from behind his book. He was chewing his lips, trying to stop his oncoming giggles. He couldn't help it anymore when he saw the result of Harry's spell.

"HAH! Hehe…" Draco covered his entire face with the potions book he was reading. "Oh… Hah… T-try again, Harry. Hehe…"

Harry spluttered and jabbed Draco's side. "Let's see you do it then!" Harry huffed annoyingly. "You've been laughing and giggling and that's not helping me."

Draco snorted and lowered his book. He glanced at Hermione, who was shaking her head at him. Draco immediately felt bad. He sighed and closed his book, putting it on the coffee table. The four teens were sitting around, going over spells and questions. Hermione had insisted for Harry and Ron to practice their spell work for Transfiguration and Charms. Ron was starting to look worn out and Harry was plainly frustrated with his lack of positive results.

"I'm sorry… It was rude of me to laugh at you when you three are working so hard…" Draco placed both of his elbows onto the table, and supported his head with his hands. "I want to help, but I only have the knowledge of spells up to thirteen years old; duplicating wasn't taught yet."

"It's alright, Draco," Hermione said. "Maybe you can get us something to drink? Ron here looks like he could use some cold beverage."

Ron had been staring blankly at his notes. He perked up when he heard he could get a drink.

"Oh, can you get me a bottle of Butterbeer?" Ron asked hopefully. "I think there were some in the fridge…"

Draco chuckled and nodded. He turned to Harry. "Do you want anything?"

"Huh…?" Harry blinked at Draco; he was thinking about the way Draco's hair fell into his eyes and how he wanted to brush his hair away. "Oh… I want a bottle as well."

"Hermione?"

"A bottle for me, please."

Draco got off the floor and padded to the kitchen. "Three bottles coming right up!"

When he came back, holding three chilled bottles, Draco smiled at the scene in front of him. Hermione was telling Ron all about how to change a pin into a feather. Harry, on the other hand, was still trying to duplicate his piece of paper.

"I have your drinks," Draco announced. Ron looked away and grinned, holding out his hand.

"Give it here, Draco." Draco handed a bottle to the redhead and set another one in front of Hermione.

"Thanks," Hermione smiled and took a swig of the cold butterbeer.

Draco sat down again and nudged Harry with his shoulder. "Harry?" When Harry didn't acknowledge him, Draco sighed and set the bottle down. "Just concentrate. Don't think about anything else."

Harry looked to the side and then back at his paper. Draco moved closer; he looked over and found that Hermione and Ron were already back to debating.

"You might think that I don't know much about Advance Charms, but I've been reading books while you guys were doing your study sessions.

"The main thing is to focus. Also, conjure a picture in your mind of two separate pieces of paper. If you do that, it would be easier for you to make copies of things." Draco wrapped his hand around Harry's wrist and squeezed comfortingly. "You can do it, Harry." He pulled back and gave the brunet a small smile when Harry turned to face him.

"Yeah… Okay." Harry squared his shoulders. "I can do this." Harry held his wand, circled his wrist and slashed. "_Effingo Speculum."_

One paper became two, and Harry did all he could to stop himself from babbling and bouncing from where he sat. But it seemed Draco was doing all those for him.

"Oh, you did it! Harry, I knew you could!" Draco laughed. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Draco leaned over and took one piece of the paper. "See? It's a perfect mirror copy."

Hermione smiled. "Great job, Harry. You should practice some more so you could get the hang of it."

Harry was beaming from ear to ear. Under the table, Harry covered Draco's right hand and held it.

"Thanks," Harry whispered.

"Er… No problem," Draco all but squeaked. "I-I only told you to concentrate…"

"And obviously, that helped. I have too many things in my mind." Harry shook his head. "I should learn how to clear my head." Harry removed his hand and Draco almost moaned at the lost of the warm skin. "I'll practice some more, like Hermione told me to."

Draco sagged and just sat there next to Harry. He really needed to get his emotions in check. Just now, when Harry held his hand, his heart was beating wildly.

_One day, I swear my heart would jump right out._

* * *

**.: Saturday, April 22, 1998 – 1:08 a.m. fourteen and two months years old :.**

_Draco watched the sky with worried eyes. He didn't know when he had his hands clasped together as if he was praying, but they were. _

"… _Draco, why are you staring up at the sky?"_

_Draco was jolted from his silent prayers and he warily looked at the girl beside him. "Shut up, Pans… I'm just… hoping something would happen to Potter, that's all."_

_Pansy snorted and pulled her coat tighter around her body. "It's so cold… Stupid tournament… Really, why do we all have to be here to watch Potter fight for his life?" Pansy looked around the sky and smirked. "That Hungarian Horntail is a nasty business."_

"_Yeah…" Draco turned away from Pansy and stared up again. He was worrying his bottom lip, chewing and biting. _

Please be alright,_ Draco thought. _

_Suddenly there was a _whoosh_ overhead, and Draco was immediately alert. Before he could utter a single word, a blur flew over the students' heads, and a distant roar was heard. Draco smiled when he saw Harry's back, but then he frowned and looked into the sky frantically. People screamed and ducked when an angry screech sounded; that was followed by flapping wings and a mighty, swinging tail._

"_Shit! Pansy, get down!" Draco shoved the girl and dropped onto the ground. _

_The dragon's tail swept over their heads._

_Students and teachers alike cautiously looked overhead. Draco peered over the edge of the low wall in front of their bleachers; the dragon was now chasing Harry around, spewing fire and snapping its jaw. The blond pressed one hand over his beating heart._

He'll be fine…

_Minutes passed… and Draco was getting antsy. Then, there were loud cheers erupting everywhere. Draco beamed. Harry had safely protected the golden egg and was going to go to the next round._

"_Aww… Potter made it safely," Pansy said. "I thought…"_

"_Pansy… Who cares, yeah?" Draco flapped his gloved hand at her. "He's going to the next round; he was just lucky," Draco said haughtily. Inwardly, he was cheering for Harry. He must put up a front for Pansy. _

"_We'll see if he can survive the next round. I heard the tournament gets more dangerous as each round passes," Pansy told the blond; she smiled wickedly. "I hope Potter loses."_

"_Er… Yeah…" Draco muttered; he tugged his beanie lower. "Let's leave. The crowd is getting pushy."_

_Pansy sniffed and hooked her arm with Draco's. "This was so not worth it. I think my skin is chapped." Pansy patted her face with her hand. "Draco, would you be a dear and let me borrow your lotions?"_

"_Sure, whatever." Draco looked back. The champions had all gone inside the tents, getting their wounds treated. He hoped Harry wasn't too badly injured._

DMDMDMDM

"_Underwater for forty minutes… Merpeople… Oh, god…" Draco rubbed his hands together, his eyes looking intently at the dark lake before him._

_People were cheering, some were booing. There were many girls – from all four Houses – that were cheering for Viktor Krum. Of course, the girls were also cheering for Cedric Diggory. _

Females.

_Draco sneered and tried to tune out all the girly screams. He stared back into the murky depths and started to pray. _

Please, please come back to the surface, _Draco said in his head, _save whomever and come back up, Harry.

_The clock situated near the stand where the Headmaster was read a quarter to two o' clock. Only fifteen minutes left. When the dark waters started to bubble near the center of the lake, Draco thought that it was Harry. He sagged in disappointment when it was Krum. The Delacour girl had forfeited and was huddling near the edge of the platform where Krum was swimming towards. Draco's brows arched up in surprise when he saw that Krum was pulling along a coughing Granger to the platform._

So she's the one he was to save… I wonder who Harry…

_Only two minutes left and Draco was beginning to get frantic. Harry still hadn't surface; he was the only one left. Diggory came up just ten minutes before, with Cho Chang in tow. Thirty seconds before time was up, the water rippled. Draco almost whimpered in relief when Harry shot out from the water. Grey eyes followed the sailing body and Draco winced when Harry landed on the platform with a loud 'thunk'. Weasley went up to the shivering brunet and wrapped a towel around him._

"_Thank Merlin…"_

DMDMDMDM

"_Blaise… Do you know what's in that maze?" Draco asked, trying to keep his worrying tone out of his voice._

_Blaise shrugged. "Don't know. But I did hear that there are nasty creatures lurking around. If either Diggory or Potter needs help, they can shoot a red spark from their wands."_

"_Oh…"_

"_Why did you ask?" _

_Draco didn't turn to look at his friend. "Nothing. I was just curious."_

"_Well, the trophy is in the very center of this maze. Whoever touches it first, would be declared the Champion. All that work just for a trophy, fame, and eternal glory," Blaise muttered, shaking his head. "I would've expected more. I bet Potter doesn't want the fame and glory; he doesn't need it."_

_Draco remained silent. All he wanted was to see Harry emerge from that dark maze, covered with fog._

_

* * *

_Draco stared at the ceiling of his room. The Triwizard Tournament. He remembered now. He turned fourteen two days ago, but it was tonight that the memories of that tournament resurfaced. He remembered how he had worried about Harry's safety; how his heart lurched when Harry held the trophy and the body of Cedric Diggory when he came out from the maze.

Chaos ensued.

Draco remembered being pushed and shoved as students wanted to take a closer look at the so-called Champion and the stiff body held close to Harry's chest. Draco remembered the cries of pain from the green-eyed teen and the frantic murmurs from the professors. He left the bleachers then; Draco didn't want to see anymore.

It could've been Harry that died, and Diggory could've been the one holding the dead body…

A sudden fear enclosed his heart and he got out of his bed. Draco went to Harry's room across the hall; the door was opened. The blond went inside and tiptoed his way to Harry's bed. He sighed when he heard the soft snores coming from the sleeping teen.

"You're here… You're okay…"

Harry snuffled and turned his head, facing Draco.

"What happened that day? Nobody heard, nobody knew…" Draco whispered; he placed a gentle hand on Harry's head, carding the dark tresses. "I'm just glad that you weren't the one… The one being carried out…"

Harry's snores were the only answers to Draco's questions. He smiled in the dark and moved away from the bed.

"Just wanted to make sure you're here… Silly of me, I know." Draco leaned down, hesitated, and then kissed Harry's temple.

When Draco left, Harry sighed softly in his sleep.

* * *

**.: Saturday, April 22, 1998 – 9:42 a.m. fourteen and two months years old :.**

"You look terrible, Draco!" Hermione exclaimed when he came out from the bathroom.

Draco rolled his eyes and plopped down next to Harry at the breakfast table. "Thanks, Mione, for stating that fact."

Harry moved his face in front of Draco's; the blond reared back and blinked at Harry.

"Draco, you have dark circles under your eyes," Harry stated. "Did you not sleep well?"

"Er… I-I… No," Draco mumbled, "had a nigh-dream last night." He reached for the pitcher of pumpkin juice and poured himself a glass. "I was dreaming things from my fourth year." He set the jug back in the middle of the table; Draco took a sip of the cool drink.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concerned. Draco nodded, swallowed his mouthful of pumpkin juice, and put on a smile for the brunet.

"I'm fine; I went back to sleep at around four… That's why I woke up late today."

"O… kay," Harry said uncertainly. "I was thinking we can go outside, to the lake, and play for a bit. If you feel up to it."

"Play?" Draco smiled more easily.

"Play?" Hermione echoed. "We don't have time –"

"Hermione, we've been studying nonstop for the past few weeks!" Harry said almost agitatedly. "I think it would do us all some good to go outside and breathe some fresh air." Harry sawed his sausage; grease squished out when Harry stabbed it with his fork. "My brain feels like it would combust." Harry chewed the sausage piece fervently.

Draco picked up his sandwich and took a bite. "What do you want to do, Harry?" Draco asked after he swallowed his food. Hermione glared at him from across the table. Draco sighed and pressed the pieces of bread closer together. "Hermione… Harry's right. You guys need a break. I'm always seeing you three with your heads behind a book of some sort. I know your N.E.W.T.s are coming up… but this is getting ridiculous."

"How is it ridiculous?" Hermione asked curtly. "If we don't prepare, then _that's _ridiculous."

"Hermione, can you just drop it?" Harry let out a long sigh. "Look at Ron; he's still sleeping! We didn't stop until midnight last night. If you want to stay in here, on a beautiful Saturday morning, then fine. Draco and I are going out to the lake."

The witch narrowed her eyes at the two boys. Draco gulped while Harry shrugged and went back to his breakfast. Hermione glared for three more seconds before she rolled her eyes and picked up her napkin, dabbing her lips clean.

"Fine, Harry, we're not studying today."

Harry smiled secretly down at his plate; he looked to Draco's side and winked at the blond. Draco blushed and smiled in return.

* * *

"Swimming?" Draco squawked. "In April?!" He shook his head at Harry. "No, no, no! That's insane, Harry! It's cold… and-and there are _things_ in the lake."

Harry's grin turned feral and he advanced on Draco. The blond took a step back, his hands held up in front of him.

"Draco, you said you'll do whatever I wanted… and I want to swim. And the only _things_ in that lake are weeds and us. _And _maybe the giant squid."

Draco whimpered and stopped moving backwards; he wrapped his arms around his slim body and frowned.

"You're out of your mind," Draco muttered; he jerked his head at the lake. "It's bloody cold and you know it!"

"Oh, come on, Draco," Harry laughed, "swim with me." Harry stuck out his bottom lip. "Please?"

How cruel.

Draco sighed explosively and half-sneered at Harry. "Fine! But if I catch a cold, Harry, you'll have to take care of me."

"Always; I'm your mum, remember?" Harry chuckled when Draco stuck his tongue out at him.

HPDMHPDM

Ten minutes later, Draco was clad only in a pair of swimming trunks, standing near the edge of a small pier. He scowled down at his swimming trunks; the patterns so did not go with his skin tone. The trunks were dark red to begin with and there were some white swirly patterns at the hem of each leg. Draco sniffed and looked over at Harry, who was standing at his right, hands on his hips.

_His _swimming trunks were black.

"Do you know how to swim?" Harry asked suddenly.

Draco shuffled his feet and nodded. "Somewhat. I can't go into deep waters though…" Draco scrutinized the calm waters before him, not noticing that Harry had quietly stepped behind him. "… This lake… I don't think we should go too far in… Who knows what kind of things are in there?"

"We won't," Harry whispered, grinning mischievously.

Draco turned his head abruptly, hearing Harry's voice coming from behind him. "Wha –"

"Get ready to be wet, Draco!" Harry laughed out loud. He wrapped both arms around Draco's waist, pulled Draco flush against him and jumped, taking Draco along with him. Draco screamed as they sailed downward.

"HAAAARRRRYYYY!"

_Splash!_

And that was that.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Swimming in April? My friend swam this morning xD So swimming in April isn't too ludicrous.

Thanks for reading :D


	22. Chapter 22: In Sickness and In Health

A/N: It's been a very hot week. O.o Which is stupid, because I got sick… ;P

**Thank you for all the reviews! :D**

To answer all the questions asking me where do I live: I live in Southern California, where the sun is shining right in your eyes. Most of the time. xD

**Warning: None. Nothing mature until Draco is of age :D You'll just have to wait. I don't want Harry as a pedophile xD**

**---- **

**Chapter 22**

_In Sickness and In Health_

**.: Saturday, April 22, 1998 – 7:37 p.m. fourteen years and two months old :.**

"Harry, what _were _you thinking?!" Harry winced as Hermione's voice hit a high note.

Draco snorted next to him, but was interrupted by a loud sneeze. Harry absentmindedly handed Draco a tissue; a box was sitting right in front of the boys.

"AAAACHH!"

"Bless you," Hermione muttered before glaring at Harry again. "It was thirteen degrees outside! Thirteen, Harry!" Hermione took out her wand and agitatedly pointed at the dirty wads Draco had thrown onto the table. They disappeared with a small pop.

"It wasn't that cold when we stood out there…" Harry mumbled; he sniffed. His nose was stuffed up.

"I did say t'was fweezing," Draco said, his voice sounding nasally. "Buh yoo wouldn't lissen." Draco took another piece of tissue and blew into it.

Ron made a face while Hermione produced another box of tissues. Harry groaned and fell against the back of the sofa. His head was beginning to hurt and not to mention he was feeling a bit warm. Draco wiped his nose roughly with the tissue and tossed it onto the table. He looked over at Harry, who had his eyes close and was breathing with some difficulty.

"Harry, you seem worse off than I am." Draco placed the back of his hand on Harry's forehead. His eyes widened when he felt how warm it was. "Merlin! Harry, you're having a fever!" Draco fussed around, pulling the blanket that Hermione gave them closer around Harry's body. "You should go to bed. Maybe I can go to Madame Pomfrey and ask for a vial of fever reducing potion. Or-or…"

"Draco, calm down," Hermione said soothingly; she smiled softly when Draco stopped fussing and turned to look at her. "_I'll_ go to Madame Pomfrey; you need to rest as well, Draco."

"I'm fine!" Draco snapped; he sighed when Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "Alright… I'm not feeling all that great either… But, I'm better off than Harry." He frowned when said teen let out a series of coughs. "This is all your fault, idiot. I told you we shouldn't swim. But _no_, you just _had_ to throw both of us into the ice cold water."

Harry sniffed again and tried to glare balefully at the blond. It didn't work that great since his nose was all red and his eyes were watery. When Draco gave him some tissues and continued to look worried, Harry grinned.

"We had fun though, didn't we?" Harry asked. "We raced – ACHHH! – And splashed around. You can't say we didn't have fun." Harry moaned and took the offered tissue from Draco.

Draco shook his head with a small smile on his face, despite the fact their little 'fun outing' caused them to be sick.

Hermione sighed exasperatedly and pushed herself up from the armchair. "Alright, you guys just stay put while I run off to get some potions for you two." She turned to Ron. "You should go somewhere else, unless you want to catch their germs."

Ron shuddered. "Hell no! I'm fine, thanks." He got up and gave Harry a pat on his shoulder. "Feel better soon, mate. You have Draco to take care of you." With that said, Ron headed to the kitchen, snickering when Draco huffed annoyingly.

"Ron, go ahead and order some soup for Harry and Draco. They won't be going to the Great Hall to eat dinner with us," Hermione called

"Alright!" Ron yelled from the kitchen.

She turned and sent a stern look to both Harry and Draco. "I'll be right back." Hermione then stomped off to the front portrait and left.

"My head feels heavy…" Harry complained. Draco smiled sympathetically and began unwrapping Harry. "What are you doing, Draco?"

Draco took the blanket and pulled Harry sideways. "Lie down; put your head on my lap and stay that way until Hermione comes back." When Harry turned red – and Draco knew that it wasn't from the fever – he laughed. "You're just using my thighs as a pillow; stop thinking so much. If I'm alright with it, so should you."

"Yeah – Well…" Harry lied down anyway. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Merlin knows if Ron walks in, he'll make assumptions." Harry stared up into dancing grey eyes. "You know how he is."

"We're not doing anything!" Draco exclaimed with a chuckle. "It's not like I'm molesting you or something." Draco waggled his eyebrows. "Unless you want me to."

Harry laughed. "You better not. Ron will have a heart attack!" Harry made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. When he felt Draco's cool skin against his heated forehead, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry I got you sick. I'm not that much of an arse, you know. I really do feel sorry."

Draco chuckled and fixed the blanket so that it covered Harry's shoulders. "We had fun. You needed it. Being cooped up in here or in the library for hours isn't doing any of you any good."

"Don't let Hermione hear that, or she'll give you one hundred reasons why studying is good for you in fifteen minutes."

"I'm sure she will," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "Now, stop talking; you're turning a bit flushed and it's not from embarrassment this time."

Harry groaned when he tried to turn his head to the side. "A huge headache's coming… Fuck… Thank Merlin tomorrow's Sunday." Before Draco could say anything, Harry let out a huge sneeze.

"ACCCHH!"

"You know, it's funny how I said that if I got sick, you had to take care of me," Draco mused, "it seemed the roles had changed."

Harry sniffed and turned onto his back. "Maybe I need someone to pamper me now and then."

"Big baby," Draco said fondly.

"You are lucky I am ill," Harry huffed, "nobody gets away with calling me a baby."

The corners of Draco's mouth curved upward; he wriggled his nose, feeling a sneeze coming.

"I guess it's my turn to take care of you, even if it's just a couple of days."

* * *

**.: Later – 8:12 p.m. :.**

"Drink this," Hermione ordered, holding out a vial of ghastly looking blue liquid. "Madame Pomfrey said this will suppress your fever, but you would still need to rest so don't expect yourself to be hopping around right after. Madame Pomfrey told me that she'll send a vial to you, one in the morning and one at night. She also said no potions can help with your stuffed up nose; that would have to go away naturally. Wizards have no cure for common colds, weird as that sounds."

Harry nodded and took the proffered vial, eyeing it warily. "I wonder why nobody tried to invent potions that didn't look so… uninviting."

Draco had already taken his vial and was already feeling a bit better. His nose wasn't as stuffy and his head felt lighter. But like Hermione said, he would still need lots of bed rest. Having the common cold sucked.

"Just drink it, Harry. Don't breathe and gulp it down in one go," Draco instructed. When Harry looked at him skeptically, Draco shrugged. "Hey, that's how I do it."

"After you drink that, finish your soup, take a shower, and head off to bed," Hermione said firmly. "Don't even try to say otherwise; you are not staying up late, Harry."

The green-eyed teen sighed tiredly. He was too sick to argue with his friend. Pulling the stopper out from the vial, Harry brought it to his lips and downed it in one go. He gagged as the thick, slimy liquid slid down his throat.

"That's awful!"

Draco plucked the vial from Harry's fingers and handed it to Hermione. "Now get off your arse and go take a shower. I'll take one after you're done."

Harry sighed in relief when his pounding headache disappeared. "Whatever you say, mother."

Draco let out an indignant huff and shoved Harry away. "Hurry up; Hermione's glaring at you."

"You zip up that jacket of yours, Draco," Hermione told Draco in a mother-like tone. "It certainly doesn't help to have a jacket on if you don't zip it up."

"Hah!" Harry crowed and zipped away from Draco's swiping hand.

Ron snorted and Hermione let out a huff.

"Git," Draco muttered, zipping up his jacket.

* * *

**.: Sunday, April 23, 1998 – 7:58 a.m. fourteen years and three months old :. **

Harry groaned; he wasn't fully awake, but he could feel his head throb. It was as if his brain was being pummeled by a very dull hammer.

_The potion wore off… Damn… Need another… _Harry winced when he tried to move his head to the side. Prying his tired eyes opened, Harry let out a small hiss as he moved. Even holding his head up hurt.

"Need… Glasses…" Harry groped blindly around his nightstand.

"Here, don't hurt yourself." Harry stopped moving his hand when he felt his glasses being pressed into his palm. He looked up to find a blond head peering down at him.

"Draco…?" Harry placed his glasses on the bridge of his nose; green eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing in here? So early in the morning as well?" The clock on the wall told Harry that it wasn't even eight in the morning yet.

Draco looked uncomfortable for two seconds before settling for a blush. "I-I've been watching you since seven-thirty… I couldn't sleep; my nose was stuffed up and… and I heard you mumbling from my room… so I came in here to check on you." Draco then settled down onto Harry's bed, sitting on the edge. "I kept quiet and let you sleep; you need all the rest you can get." Draco turned and smiled at the brunet, who was still gaping at him. "You have a headache, am I correct?"

"Er… Yeah… I'm guessing the potion wore off," Harry answered. "Did Madame…?"

"Oh, yeah…" Draco handed Harry another small vial of blue. "I took it away; didn't want you to knock it down when you look for your glasses."

"Thanks…" Harry was about to drink it when Draco wrapped his hand around his wrist. Harry stared questioningly at the blond-haired teen.

"Don't… Uhm… There was a note under my vial… Madame Pomfrey said you shouldn't take it with an empty stomach."

"Oh…" Harry looked down at his wrist; his skin felt warm where Draco had his hand. "Did you eat yet?" Harry asked, looking back at Draco.

"No… Don't know how to make… Hermione and Ron are still sleeping," Draco said meekly. "Didn't want to bother either of them _or _you," Draco added when Harry opened his mouth, wanting to say he should've woken him.

Harry smiled warmly. Draco had been watching over him for the last thirty minutes. It was a sweet gesture.

"What do you say for some breakfast? I'm awake now, and we both need to drink the potion," Harry suggested, sitting up. "What do you think of waffles? Have you ever tried waffles before? I don't think I've seen you eat any…"

"No…" Draco shook his head. "Never tried… My mother never made me any… so I never thought of trying them. Fuck… She hardly knows how to cook, let alone make waffles," Draco said bitterly. "Our house elves did all the cooking."

"Hey…" Harry reached out and touched Draco's arm. The blond jerked and sighed.

"I'm sorry for that outburst… Let's just say… Well, my parents weren't really parents in a way." Draco let out a short laugh. "They didn't even want me when I was first de-aged." Draco's forehead smoothed itself and a small grin formed on his lips. "You're a much better mother than she ever was, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Shove over, Draco. Let me put on my jacket and then I'll make us some food."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"What is that… metal, white thing?"

Draco tilted his head side to side, scowling at the unknown object that was resting on the kitchen counter. Harry had transfigured an old wooden spoon – after multiple tries – into that white _thing._

Harry chuckled and lifted the lid, revealing four squares; each square had nine small wells, three across and three rows.

"This is how I'm going to make you waffles," Harry answered. "You didn't expect me to make waffles with a pan, right?"

Draco frowned and walked closer, until he was standing right next to Harry.

"… I wouldn't know." The blond leaned his body against the kitchen counter. "I never really studied one closely; I only know that Hermione pours syrup all over them when she eats them for breakfast." He looked at the metal contraption warily. "That doesn't look like waffles can come out of it. It's all metal."

Harry let out a surprised laugh. "I still have to put the batter in it." Harry got on his toes and opened a cabinet, taking out a huge mixing bowl. "Can you get me some eggs, Draco?" He asked and went on to rummage through drawers.

"Sure…" Draco wandered over to the white refrigerator. "How many do you want?"

"I think three is good. It should be enough to make waffles for both of us," Harry replied; he was now looking through the pantry trying to find some flour.

Draco brought the three eggs over and gently put them next to the mixing bowl. "What do I do with them? Do you want me to crack them open?"

Harry smiled when he saw a bag of flour; he took it and walked back over to Draco. His eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw Draco holding an egg in his fist, about to crush it with his bare hands.

"NO! Stop!"

Draco had his hand above the bowl just as Harry yelled. He turned around to face the green-eyed teen, confused when he saw Harry's wide-eyed expression. Draco immediately knew he did something wrong.

"I-I just wanted to help…" Draco whispered sadly, thinking that Harry didn't want his help. "I'll just…"

Harry sighed and placed the flour on the counter. "I wasn't yelling _at_ you, Draco. I just didn't want eggshells in our waffles." Harry chuckled when Draco looked at him blankly. "The way you were about to… uh… _crack_ those eggs was the incorrect way. Here, I'll show you…"

Harry took the egg Draco was still holding and tapped it on the rim of the bowl. "You don't have to crush it with your fist, Draco. All you have to do is make a small crack –" Harry then pressed his thumbs into the broken part of the shell, "– and pry it open, breaking the shell in half." Harry showed the now cracked egg to Draco. "Normally, we could just dump the whole thing in, with the yolk and all, but for waffles I only need the whites."

"… Whites?" Draco scrunched up his brows. "Nothing's white…" He moved closer to look at the egg. "There's the yolk and the clear stuff…"

"That's the egg whites," Harry explained patiently. "Here, watch me separate them."

For the next five minutes, Draco watched in fascination as Harry separated the yolks from the whites. Harry had placed all the yolks into a small glass bowl while putting all the gathered egg whites into the mixing bowl.

"Can you turn on the waffle maker?" Harry asked distractedly as he measured the flour into a cup.

"Uh, exactly _how_ do I do that?" Draco muttered; he jabbed the metal thing, glared at it, and was about to yell when Harry came over and tapped the waffle maker with his wand.

"Magic, Draco," Harry said cheekily; he laughed when Draco puffed up in annoyance.

Harry then walked back to the mixing bowl and gestured Draco to come over.

"Now, we're at the fun part…"

* * *

Hermione woke up to the sound of a non-manly scream. In her half-awake state, she thought she was just hearing things. But when she heard a loud sneeze and laughter, Hermione was more awake.

_Who's out there so early on a Sunday morning?_

Hermione yawned and sat up, stretching her body. It was time for her to get out of bed and start the day. She had planned to do more studying, in case she didn't have time tomorrow.

"… I wonder if Harry and Draco are alright…"

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Harry was mixing all the ingredients together in the large mixing bowl when he felt a huge sneeze coming. Not wanting to contaminate the whole bowl of waffle batter, Harry turned his head sharply to his right and let out his sneeze…

… Right on Draco.

"Ewww! Oh, damn it! Harry, that was disgusting!" Draco snarled and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

Harry snorted, trying to hold back his laughter when Draco continued to make faces and tried to clean his cheek at the same time.

"S-sorry!" Harry chuckled and turned back to the mixing bowl. "Couldn't hold it in… Had to sneeze. We should really hurry this up so we can eat and take the –"

Harry never got the chance to finish that sentence. Draco had just smeared a trail of wet batter onto his face.

"Draco!" Harry pretended to be mad at the blond; Draco grinned at him. "Okay, no more horsing around. I need to make you some waffles."

"How?" Draco took a wet cloth and wiped the batter off Harry's face.

"Thanks," Harry murmured, his face heating up when Draco brushed his face with the towel.

"No problem, but tell me… How is _that_ going to turn into edible waffles?" Draco tossed the dirtied cloth into the sink. "It looks like vomit more than anything else."

"Don't be gross, Draco," Harry chided. "Remember this waffle maker?" Harry tilted his head at it.

"Yeah… What about it?" Draco wrinkled his nose; he really didn't understand anything Muggle.

"I turned it on ten minutes ago to preheat it," Harry told the blond. "It should be hot enough now."

"Hot? It doesn't look hot… I don't even see steam coming out." Draco peered at the white lid. "Anyways, what do we do now?"

"Lift up the lid; I'm going to pour some batter in," Harry instructed, "close it when I fill up the four squares."

"Erm… Okay…" Draco looked uncertain but followed Harry's instructions anyway. A blast of steam hit his face and Draco moved back. "Oh! It's really hot!"

"I told you," Harry said smugly; he rolled his eyes when Draco glared at him. "I'll just pour this in, shall I?"

Draco smirked at Harry and nodded. "Yes, you should."

Harry shook his head good-naturedly and took his bowl over to the waffle maker. Pouring to the brim, Harry filled the four squares and Draco closed the lid.

"They should be done in no more than half an hour," Harry said, wiping his hand on a wet towel.

"Half an hour?!" Draco's eyes bulged in surprise.

"Er… Yeah?"

"…"

"… Hm. Maybe we should just ask elves to bring us food from now on."

"Yes, I quite agree with you, Harry."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

**.: Waiting for waffles to be done – 8:47 a.m. :.**

Draco glared at Harry from where he sat at the dining table. Harry sighed and tapped his forefinger on the counter, watching the waffle maker the whole time. He could tell the waffles were almost ready to eat, judging from the scent wafting from the maker.

"Is it done?" Draco asked, pouting. "I'm getting _really_ hungry."

"… Almost, Draco," Harry murmured. He had two plates ready in front of him and a jar of syrup was already on the dining table.

Draco coughed behind his hand. His nose was getting really runny and his throat was starting hurt. He really needed that potion soon.

"What is that delightful smell?"

Harry looked away from the waffle maker and smiled at Hermione, who had just walked into the kitchen with a bright smile.

"Good morning, Hermione," Harry greeted the witch.

Hermione giggled when all Draco did was grunt at her. "Someone's in a foul mood."

"I'm hungry and I'm feeling sick," Draco mumbled. "We couldn't take the potion with an empty stomach so Harry thought of making some waffles."

"You guys didn't take the potions yet?!" Hermione crossed her arms. "Harry, why are you taking your time making food when you and Draco should be resting?" She arched her eyebrow at the green-eyed teen.

"It's not his fault," Draco piped up; he smiled at Hermione nervously when she turned to face him. "I-I didn't know how to make breakfast… and Harry found out I never had waffles…"

Understanding blossomed across Hermione's face. "… So he wanted to make you some, despite the fact that you're both sick and needed rest." When Draco nodded, Hermione smiled lightly. "You could've waked me up, Draco. I would be more than happy to make you something to eat."

"Waffles are ready!" Harry chirped happily. He puttered around the kitchen; Draco and Hermione watched as the teen got everything ready.

"Do you want some, Mione?"

Hermione flapped her hand at Harry and sat down across from Draco. "Nah, it's alright. I'll get something else." She blinked rapidly when Draco poured syrup all over his waffles. The brown sugary goodness drowned them. "Um… Draco?"

"Huh?" Grey eyes looked up at Hermione.

The witch caught Harry shaking his head slightly. She kept her comment to herself; it was the first time Draco had waffles after all.

"Nevermind; go eat your breakfast," Hermione said softly.

"Finally! I've been waiting since eight o'clock!" Draco jabbed his fork into the warm waffle and took a bite. Harry watched him with anticipation.

"Well?"

Draco swallowed his mouthful and licked his lips. "They're delicious! Harry, you have to make them more often." He took another bite and almost whimpered. The waffle was sweet, warm, and eggy. It was also kind of crunchy. "I so missed out. Whenever I saw waffles at breakfast in the Great Hall, I avoided them because I never tried…" Draco's happy mood dimmed, his smile faltered. "Can you believe it? Me, Draco Malfoy, never ate something as normal as a waffle before today."

Harry reached for Draco's hand and squeezed it. "I'll make you waffles. I can also make whatever you want to try, if they're not too hard to make that is." Harry grinned when Draco looked at him with wide eyes. "If you want to eat a cake, tell me. If you were craving brownies, I'll see what I can do. We all know you love sweet things, Draco."

"Brownies…? W-what are those?" Draco whispered. "I… I never heard of them…"

"Don't worry about that," Harry said determinedly. "If you ever want to try them, just tell me. I'll find a way to make you some."

"A-are they – I'm not trying to sound rude – but are they a type of Muggle dessert?"

"Yup. They're chocolaty and very good," Harry answered. "Don't say anything bad until you try them."

"I might've said something bad back in the days…" Draco murmured. "My parents wouldn't have let me eat something that Muggles made. All we had for dessert at home were delicacies. Stuff that you guys probably never heard of."

"You're not like that anymore."

"… No, no I'm not."

Hermione smiled in satisfaction. She watched the two boys continue with their breakfast, chatting about what they could do for the duration of the day.

Hermione was still musing about Draco's change of attitude when said blond let out another non-manly squeal.

"HARRY!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to –"

"This is my favorite pajama pants!"

"I'll clean it up..."

"It'll stain! Oh, you're going to buy me a new pair, Harry!"

"What?! How much is that going to cost me? Your pants are made out of silk!"

"I don't care! I'm not wearing this anymore!"

"Draco! It's just syrup! It's not like I burned a hole –"

"No. You are getting me pants." Draco ended that sentence with a hard pinch on Harry's arm.

"Ouch! Don't get violent!"

Hermione snorted.

Some things would never change.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Chocolate brownies for everyone! Next chapter: Draco will be fifteen! :O

Thanks for reading! :D


	23. Chapter 23: Confessions

A/N: I did say that this chapter would have Draco be fifteen, yes? Well, then fifteen it is. Things would get more, shall we say, grown up? Haha, no more worries, Harry! You can do "stuff" to Draco… Well, we'll see if he does or not.

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!**

Sorry for taking more than a month to update the story. As I said in _The Path to Healing_, school's being a jerk.

**Warnings: Uhm, it's a **_**bit**_** of sadness. Then, it's fluffy ;D**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

_Confessions_

**.: Tuesday, May 2, 1998 – 9:34 a.m. fifteen years old :.**

"No, Harry, you must think of your hair becoming the style you want it to be," Hermione said. "You can't just point your wand at yourself and say the charm. It doesn't work that way," she eyed Harry's head skeptically, "and obviously, it doesn't. Harry, you really have to concentrate in our classes; NEWTs are almost here."

Draco laughed from somewhere behind Hermione's back. Harry moved his head so he could glare at the blond properly.

"Shut up, Draco," Harry sniped. "You're not the one who's sporting an afro."

Draco laughed even louder at that, even Hermione couldn't contain a giggle.

"Hah… I-I don't know what an afro is, but Harry, you look… atrocious," Draco spluttered through his chuckles.

Harry seethed.

"Harry, calm down, I can fix your hair and you can try again," Hermione said soothingly, although she was also grinning widely. "Just remember what I said." She turned her head and looked at Draco. "You should stop laughing, Draco. It's not nice."

Harry and Hermione were partners for today's Charms class. Their assignment for the day was to make their own hair into a more beautiful style. So far, only a handful of students were able to do their task, while the other half – and Harry included – were not doing so well.

Draco had tried for the fun of it – with Professor Flitwick's permission and with Harry's wand – and was able to manage to give himself a new haircut. A shaggy looking haircut.

It was better than Harry's afro at any rate.

Without a doubt.

"Hermione," Harry whined. "I can't do this! My hair's messy naturally and all I'm going to do is give myself a tornado of hair or something."

This led to more laughter from Draco.

"Harry, just try again," Draco said through his giggles. He stopped laughing and smiled at Harry confidently. "Imagine yourself with longer hair… or shorter hair if you prefer, but don't point your wand at yourself and say the charm. You were lucky; you could've ended up with a fireball on your head… and… Let's just say you won't have to worry about having a bad hair day anymore."

Harry gulped. Draco made a point. He _was_ lucky; he could've been bald right now… and had a very bad burn. When Hermione told Harry to face her, he did. He sat patiently as his friend fixed his hair.

"There," Hermione murmured when Harry's hair returned to normal. "Try again."

The green-eyed teen sighed and picked up his wand; he had thrown it to the side when he found out he had an afro. It was a normal reaction. He stared straight ahead, past Hermione and found Draco grinning at him. Harry then looked more closely and saw encouragement in Draco's eyes. When the blond gave him a slight nod, Harry closed his eyes and pointed his wand at his hair.

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"Potter, Draco! Looking good!" Nott smirked at Harry when he and Draco came inside Snape's class.

Harry groaned and ducked his head, trying his best to hide behind Draco, who was as taller than he was now. Draco was probably around five foot nine.

"Shut up…" Harry looked at Nott, only to find the Slytherin waggling his eyebrows at him. "Oh god…"

The rest of the class laughed. Harry smiled lightly and followed the blond.

"Cheer up, Harry," Draco whispered; he sat down at their usual table and patted the stool next to him. "Your new haircut looks nice. I like it."

When Draco winked at him, Harry's heart fluttered.

"W-well… Maybe it's not so bad; I needed a cut anyways…" Harry sat down on the stool. "It's just… It feels breezy at the back of my head."

Draco rolled his eyes and placed his hand on top of Harry's head. "You always had an awful lot of hair. It's a nice change. Now, your hair frames your face… It's softer looking… You…" Draco blushed and removed his hand. He avoided Harry's searching green eyes.

"I, what?!" Harry asked. "Do I look weird? Is that why… I knew I shouldn't have done this!" Harry groaned and put his head onto the table, covering his head with his hands.

Draco looked around; Snape was still in his office and the rest of the class was busy doing their own things. He used his index finger and touched the underside of Harry's chin, making the brunet look at him.

"Don't be like this… I-I wanted to say… It makes you look… Uh… Handsome." Draco swallowed; his throat was suddenly dry. "Harry, you'll always look good in my eyes." When Harry blinked at him, Draco huffed. "Stop blinking at me."

Harry's heart was beating so fast that he thought he was having a heart attack. But he broke out of his stupor and grinned at the blond.

"Thanks, Draco."

Maybe it was a spur of a moment thing. Or maybe it was Harry's eyes, but Draco suddenly felt a pull. The rest of the class seemed to fade away… and Harry was staring at him as well.

Those eyes.

"… Draco. We can't," he heard Harry murmured softly. "You know that…"

It was Draco's turn to blink rapidly. The soft spoken words woke him up. Then, he felt Harry's hand covering his own.

"I know how you feel… I understand." Harry squeezed Draco's hand when the blond wanted to respond. "But it's not _right_. Draco, you're still… only fifteen. I think… When you're seventeen again, we need to talk."

"Right…" Draco smiled humorlessly, "it's just that the more I remember… the more I feel about you."

Harry released Draco's hand and hefted his book bag onto the table. "Tell me about it…" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

Harry took out his textbook and shook his head. "… Nothing."

Draco arched his eyebrows at the brunet. "Are you keeping something from me, Harry?" Draco rolled his eyes and planted his elbows onto the tabletop. "You know, I never fully understood why you actually _liked_ the kiss I gave you when I was twelve…"

"It… I… I really don't want to tell you now," Harry said almost exasperatedly. "It's hard enough for me to find out that you liked me for so long… You don't know what I want to do – do _to _you."

"What do you mean, 'do to me'?" Draco asked; Harry only shook his head. Malfoy narrowed his eyes, his lips forming a thin line. "Fine. Don't tell me now. But I do expect an answer from you. I'm looking forward to our _talk_."

Before Harry had a chance to reply, Snape came out from his back office and began barking at the students, his hand waving towards the board. Scripted letters appeared and that was the cue for the students to start working. Harry looked to his side; Draco had opened the textbook to the page Snape wanted. All Harry saw were long paragraphs and one picture of the potion. He groaned. Draco heard and smirked at him, nodding at the page and stood up.

"It's alright, Harry," the blond said almost coolly. "The potion isn't too hard to make." Without waiting for a response, Draco sauntered off.

_Damn it, Draco!_

Harry gritted his teeth and followed the blond.

_If you only knew how much I just want hold you… and kiss our worries away._

* * *

**.: Tuesday, May 2, 1998 – 10:52 p.m. :.**

Harry stood right in front of Draco's bedroom door. It was closed – it had been closed for the last two hours. The blond had acted coolly towards Harry throughout the day, all because of their small spat during Potions. It wasn't really even an argument; Harry just didn't feel ready to tell Draco everything.

Right after Potions, Draco had walked briskly out of the classroom, didn't slow down or waited for Harry to catch up to him. Hermione was walking with Harry and had sent Harry a questioning look. All Harry did was shrug and continued to follow the blond, who was clearly pissed off.

Hours went by and Draco remained indifferent. When Harry asked him something, Draco responded with one-word answers. It was when Harry was in his last class that the green-eyed teen gave up on trying to get something out of Draco.

Dinnertime was quiet. Hermione knew something wasn't quite right; even Ron had wisely kept his mouth shut. When their dinner was finished, Draco excused himself, sent Harry a glare, and went to his room.

And now, two hours later, Harry was here. In front of Draco's door.

"… Harry?"

The teen in question turned away from the door and found Hermione standing by her own room. Harry smiled lightly at the girl; Hermione came up to him and tilted her head to the side.

"Is Draco alright?"

"I – I don't know," Harry answered. "We… We had a slight argument, I guess."

"About?" Hermione always knew when something wasn't right. She was keen to these things.

"He asked me… Draco felt that I'm keeping something – and I am." Harry sighed and leaned against the wall behind him. "I want to tell him how I feel… But I can't, Hermione. Not yet."

Hermione hummed. "You're right; it's better to tell Draco when he's seventeen again. That way, you can make it official." She smirked lightly when Harry spluttered. "Oh, Harry, I know you want to tell Draco that you like him, too."

"He probably figured it out already," Harry muttered, "that's why he was so pissed off at me. Draco probably wanted me to tell him directly, and not be all enigmatic."

* * *

Draco was on his back, his eyes staring at the ceiling above him. He had spent the last two hours... thinking.

He hated the way Harry was being so secretive. Draco had thought that after all they had been through, Harry would be able to tell him anything.

Draco scoffed; it seemed Harry couldn't.

The blond closed his eyes and sighed. Really, Harry wasn't acting all that much different, but the brunet was so hesitant!

_What is he keeping from me?!_

Draco growled softly and turned to his side, half of his face pressed into his pillow. He could hear shuffling right outside his door. It was probably Harry, wanting to come in but wasn't brave enough to knock on the door. Draco rolled his eyes with a small smile. Harry was worried about him. That was certain.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Draco remembered the shiny, silver bracelet he saw adorning Harry's wrist. _Where_ did that come from? Or better yet, _who_ gave it to Harry?

Draco whimpered. Did Harry have a boyfriend already? Was that what Harry wanted to talk about?

"No…" Draco blinked in surprise when his eyes became blurry. "But I haven't seen him with anyone..."

_Don't make assumptions! Ask him, damn it!_

"Calm down. Maybe it was a gift…" Draco nodded to himself. He had to believe that; it made his heart hurt to think Harry was already with somebody else.

It hurt because Draco wanted Harry to be his.

And his only.

Malfoys did not share.

* * *

**.: Thursday, May 4, 1998 – 4:19 p.m. fifteen years and two months :.**

"Hey, Harry?"

The green-eyed teen smiled and lowered his book. He and Draco were out by the Lake. It was a pretty warm day, great for outdoor studying. It was also away from constant questions from Hermione as well. Also, he and Draco were in talking terms again. It was Draco that actually spoke first. It was as if he woke up and forgot all about it. But Harry had sensed some unease from the blond and he was pretty sure Draco would ask him _something._

"Harry?"

"Oh, sorry," Harry apologized. "Zoned out a bit there…"

Draco chuckled. He was on his back, his hands behind his head. Harry picked a shady spot to study and Draco used the time to relax and just watch the dark-haired teen.

It was very calm… very peaceful.

"Er… I just wanted to ask – ask about that bracelet…"

_I knew it._

Draco furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Harry stiffened. "I saw it that one time I was in your room… Was it a gift? I know it's not my business, and – and –" Draco babbled on, panic was starting to set in.

"No," Harry murmured, "it's alright. I knew you would see it sooner or later and I would have to tell you about it."

Draco immediately stopped yapping once he heard Harry's voice. "So... Who gave it to you?"

_Please don't say it's from your boyfriend..._

"… You."

Draco sighed... a few seconds passed...

"What?!" Draco sat straight up, wincing when his head felt kind of light for sitting up so quickly. "_I _gave it to you? When?"

"I won't lie to you; did Pansy ever talk to you about it?"

"N –" Draco paused. "Yes, she did… more than a month ago. I was still twelve; it was when she pulled me into my room." Draco turned his body around and faced Harry. "She asked me if I saw you wearing anything peculiar… I told her no at that time.

"But it was that same night I saw the bracelet…" Draco scowled at Harry. "What about the bracelet? You said I gave it to you?"

"Yes, when we were sixth years. It was Valentine's day…"

For the next fifteen minutes, Harry told Draco all about it. How Pansy revealed that Draco fancied Harry; how the bracelet intended to be Harry's Valentine's gift. Harry also told the now very confused blond about how he asked Pansy to keep it a secret.

Draco turned red after the whole story.

"I – I really wanted you to know, didn't I?" Draco murmured. "I went as far as giving you that bracelet, but I chickened out in the end." Draco let out a depreciating laugh. "In the end, I wasn't brave enough to give it to you."

"It wasn't that, Draco," Harry whispered; he moved closer to the sulking blond. "You had to worry about your own House as well. Pansy did a great job at not letting other people know; she didn't even tell Blaise about the situation."

Draco smiled at that. "Pansy's a great friend… She's like a sister to me."

Harry hesitantly put out his arms and wrapped them around Draco's slim shoulders. They were alone out here so it was alright for him to hold Draco. The blond needed it anyway.

Harry grinned to himself when Draco willingly went into his embrace. They fit together. It felt _right._

"Did you know? I thought the bracelet was from somebody else."

Harry smirked at what Draco confessed. "Were you jealous?" His smirk faltered when he felt Draco's hands gripped his robe tighter.

"I didn't want to think about you being with somebody else." Draco turned his head and nuzzled Harry's neck with his nose. "Let's… just stay out here for awhile. Feels nice… I don't want to be back in the rooms; it's stuffy in there."

Harry let himself be pulled down onto the bed of grass. He also let Draco hold him close; he didn't complain when Draco used his chest as a pillow. In return, Harry wrapped his own arms around the slimmer, yet taller, teen.

It didn't matter.

He wanted it anyway.

* * *

**.: Night – 2:19 a.m. :. **

"Why are you in here? Is something wrong?"

Concern laced his voice.

"… I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind."

"Draco, it's past two in the morning… Do you… Do you want to stay here for the night? I don't mind…"

An invitation.

"I – It's just that remember the things from our sixth year. A lot happened." Draco sat down where Harry had pulled the blanket away. "I'm glad you accepted my gift… even if it's a year later." The blond slowly lay down.

"I never properly thanked you," Harry whispered; he shuffled a bit closer to the body next to his. "I love it… It's beautiful."

Hushed words.

"I'm just happy you didn't throw it away; that was my first worry, did you know?"

"Pansy told me… I thought you were foolish." Harry smiled in the dark when Draco chuckled.

"I thought I was foolish for falling in love with you."

"… You're not. If that's the case, then I'm a fool, too."

Soft laughter.

"We're both idiots then." Draco turned his head so he could look at Harry's face. "I'll be seventeen again, Harry."

"I know."

"Are things going to change?"

"Nothing's going to change, Draco. You mean a lot to me. I told you that last week. You wanted an answer, I gave it to you."

"I'm glad to know." Fingers found Harry's and he held the brunet's hand under the covers.

"Sleep, Draco."

Hands intertwined…

"… Thank you."

Harry waited until he could hear the even breaths from Draco. He reached over and brushed the blond tresses away from Draco's closed eyes.

"Love you…" Harry closed his eyes with a soft smile on his face.

Silence, and then…

Dreams took over.

* * *

**.: Sunday, May 14, 1998 – 7:24 a.m. sixteen years old :.**

Harry woke up to an arm wrapped tightly around his waist. He wiggled a bit and felt a hard body behind him. Harry smiled, remembering that Draco had walked into his room in the middle of the night. He stroked Draco's knuckles, wishing they could stay in bed, but knew it couldn't happen.

"… Nngh… Stop moving, Harry…" Draco softly kissed the back of Harry's neck, making the brunet shiver. "Sleep… it's barely light out…"

Harry chuckled softly and held Draco's hand, the one splayed across his belly. "It's not _that_ early, Draco."

"Well, it's early to me. You woke me up with your constant wiggling. I can't promise you that I won't do anything to you…"

Warm breath puffed against the back of Harry's neck, making his hair stand on end.

"You have to go soon… What if Hermione or Ron found that your room is empty? Or that they barge in here, trying to wake me up. You know Hermione does that from time to time." Harry turned within Draco's arms and smiled at the sleepy blond. "Go back to your room and sleep some more."

Draco grumbled and unfolded his arms. "Fine… I'll go back –" he shifted and finally opened his eyes to fully look at Harry, "—but after you give me a kiss."

Harry chuckled. "Only in private, Draco. Remember that."

"Mhmm…" Draco smirked and puckered up his lips, making Harry laugh some more.

"God, you just reminded me how you always asked for kisses in the mornings when you were just a baby… You were so adorable."

Draco sniffed. "No wet kisses, Harry."

Harry snickered and leaned in, kissing Draco's lips softly. When he pulled back, he was surprised to see a faint blush on Draco's cheeks.

"That felt nice…" Draco whispered. "Now, I can't _wait_ to be seventeen again."

"Go… I'll see you later," Harry smiled, "I think I'm going to sleep for another hour or so."

Draco got up and off the bed. He tucked in the blanket and smoothed it out. With one last smile at Harry, Draco padded out of the room. Harry heard the faint click when Draco closed his own bedroom door.

The green-eyed teen sighed dreamily and closed his eyes, falling asleep once more.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: There you go! Some fluffiness… and sweet kisses! No nakedness until Draco is back to seventeen again! That would come soon enough :D Next chapter might be when he's aged back to normal. Isn't _that _exciting? Lol Testing time for Harry and friends…

**I'm also sorry that this chapter is shorter than normal :(**

Thanks for reading! :D


	24. Chapter 24: Closing the Rift

A/N: NEWTs are coming up (I split this the chapter up. Sorry!). It's time for stress… it totally reflects what I went through when I had to take my exams xD It was one after another… I couldn't sleep because I had to study and all that… Finals are coming!!! Dx

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!**

Yes, I know this took awhile as well… I'm trying to update as quick as I can haha :P If schools did not exist… -walks off in a daze-

**Warnings: Draco is seventeen. Enough said. Still not at the naked level yet, if you know what I mean ;P**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

_Closing the Rift _

**.: Monday, May 22, 1998 – 11:41 a.m. sixteen years and eight months :.**

Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts, was sneering at his class of seventh years. He smirked when he noticed the way Longbottom trembled under his scrutiny; the boy was cutting ingredients and had looked up at the wrong time. His dark eyes left the slightly chubby teen and scanned across the whole room. Potter and Draco were sitting near the back, heads together and giggling about something.

There shouldn't be any _giggling_ in his classroom.

"Potter!" Snape's thin lips curled in glee when Potter's head jerked away from Draco's and looked at him. "What are you doing? Continue with your potion and cease your childish… _laughter._" Snape narrowed his eyes. "When I walk over there to check your progress, I better not see some black gunk at the bottom of the cauldron."

Snape was satisfied when he heard a soft 'Yes, sir' from the boy. His dropped his tiny, tiny smile and his face became blank once more.

"Why did you all stop?!" Snape barked at his class in general. "You have less than twenty minutes left and I want a vial on my desk before you all leave! So I would hurry if I were you!"

A small whimper came from Longbottom; Granger scowled lightly and went on with her stirring. His Slytherins were quiet and concentrated. When his eyes went back to Potter and Draco, Snape found them working diligently.

Potter was lucky to have Draco as a partner. The blond had insisted to be Potter's partner until the end of the year. Snape didn't understand why his favorite student was being so _nice_ to the brunet. To a _Gryffindor_. Something had changed and he wasn't quite sure _what_. Snape shook his head; it wasn't his problem.

Just as he was getting some first years' essays out to grade, a small 'eep' came from Longbottom's direction. Before Snape could utter out a single word, the area became covered in white smoke. The Potions Master sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was just about to tell himself that today was a good day.

But not anymore.

"Longbottom!"

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Harry giggled softly when he felt Draco's fingers tracing up and down his thigh under the work table. Ever since Draco turned sixteen, they had been sitting in the far back of the classroom. Draco had said that this way, they couldn't be seen too easily. Harry had thought it wouldn't hurt to sit so far in the back… until Draco started doing _things_.

Not that Harry minded.

"Draco… Stop," Harry whispered; he bit his lip to stop himself from giggling louder. Draco's hand was now on his knee, tickling him.

The blond moved closer, until their heads were almost touching. He moved Harry's textbook and started flipped through it, as if he was looking for something. They made it look like as if they were working hard on their potion. He didn't want Professor Snape to yell at Harry again.

"You better finish that up, Harry," Draco murmured softly; he stopped his tickling but left his hand on Harry's knee. "It's almost time to stir it twenty times counterclockwise."

Harry smiled and reached under the table with his left hand, finding Draco's and held it. "No more tickling; I was about to burst out in giggles. It's not fair that you know my ticklish spots, but I don't know yours." Harry mock scowled when Draco smirked at him. "And I don't want Snape to come over here and find us doing this."

"Doing what?" Draco feigned innocence. Harry chuckled and picked up a glass rod with his right hand.

"You know what," Harry replied. He held Draco's hand tighter. "Soon, Draco, soon."

Draco looked away from Harry for a second; Snape was still yelling at Neville.

"Four more days…" Draco pouted. "But you'll be taking N.E.W.T.s next week. We won't have much time together."

"Well, you know they're just like our O.W.L.s," Harry said, still stirring his potion. "But this might take longer since it's so much harder."

Draco hummed in response. "I need to talk with the Headmaster… I can't take it this year…" Draco's eyes then widened in fear. "Does this mean I have to stay here? For an extra year?"

Harry sucked in his breath, his hand stilled. "I – I haven't thought…" Harry peeked from under his fringe; Snape was now prowling around near the front of the class. He would be at Harry's table soon. "We can go today, if you want. I didn't think about that…"

Draco let go of Harry's hand and folded his arms on top of the table. He was truly upset now.

"I really don't want to stay… I'll be alone…"

Harry missed the warmth of Draco's hand, but there was an important matter to be fixed.

"You'd been to every class I took this year… I am assuming now that your seventh year schedule is close to mine… If that's the case… maybe when you're seventeen again – which you will be before the testing time comes – you can take it with us. I can ask Dumbledore about it."

"Really?" Draco asked excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "Do you really think the Headmaster would let me? Oh, I remember _every_ little detail of what you learned this year! Even though you were asleep for some classes –" Draco grinned when Harry pouted at him, "- I paid attention and even took notes for you once." The blond was smiling widely now. "It's just as if I was taking the class… only I was younger."

"Calm down, Draco," Harry hissed; he spared a glance at Snape's direction. "Professor Snape's coming. Look, I'll take you to Dumbledore after my last class, alright?"

Draco nodded without hesitation. "Thanks, Harry…" He smiled shyly at the brunet when Harry stroked his cheek.

All without Snape noticing of course.

"No problem," Harry said softly. He peered into his cauldron and was glad to see that his potion didn't turn into some black tar. "Snape can't be angry at me; it's the right color. Bright pink." Harry frowned. "Why is a potion for healing muscle pains bright pink? Why can't it be blue or something more… manly?"

_o.O?_

Draco barely covered his mouth in time for Snape had swept up to their table. As the Potions Master peered at Harry's work, Draco smiled behind his hand.

His Harry was absolutely adorable.

* * *

**.: Same day – 12:44 p.m. :.**

"Draco, you seem awfully jumpy today," Hermione noted; she was sitting across from him and Harry. Ron was next to her.

Draco just smiled and ate another fork of spaghetti. He closed his eyes and almost whimpered as the cheese and tomato sauce touched his tongue. Merlin, how he loved Monday spaghetti! The witch rolled her eyes and looked at Harry expectantly, wanting the brunet to give her an answer.

"Hey," Harry said, waving his fork around, "don't look at me like that. Draco's just antsy because we're going to speak with Dumbledore. He's been worried about if he had to stay at Hogwarts for an extra year."

"Oh… Oh!" Hermione eyes widened. "That's right… You guys are going to see if Draco can take the N.E.W.T.s with us?"

"Yeah… I hope the Headmaster would say yes," Harry murmured. "Besides, Draco will be seventeen by then."

Hermione pursed her lips together, forming a thin line. "Well, Draco _had_ been going to our classes…"

Draco swallowed his food before he said anything. "That's what I said, but I'm still worried that Professor Dumbledore might tell me that I couldn't because I wasn't in my rightful age, that it didn't really count even though I was there."

"Dumbledore's reasonable," Harry said as he used his fork to spear a meatball. "He'll listen to your explanation and give you the best answer."

"I hope so…"

By now, Ron had already finished his plate of spaghetti. He picked up his napkin and belched into it. Hermione made a face while Harry only laughed. Draco arched an eyebrow at the redheaded teen.

"Any louder, Ron?" Draco asked. Ron folded his napkin and drank his juice.

"Yeah, it can, but I don't think you want to find out," Ron said cheekily. "Anyways, you should stop worrying. Heck, I'm sure you can do better than me if you are taking the N.E.W.T.s. You have this… way of memorizing everything from our lessons and could probably recite everything back!"

Draco blushed. "Well – It really not just about memorization. You have to understand it to learn it."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Come on, guys. Transfiguration is next and I really don't want McGonagall to be angry at us for being late."

Hermione glanced at her wristwatch. "Only ten minutes left; we should go." She stood up and hoisted her book bag onto her shoulder. "Let's go."

Harry got up from the bench and took his bag; Ron was already standing next to Hermione. As the group of teens walked out from the Great Hall, Harry's hand brushed against Draco's.

"Everything will be fine," Harry murmured. His fingers linked with Draco's and gave the blond's hand a quick squeeze before letting go.

* * *

**.: Headmaster's Office – 3:08 p.m. :.**

"Blood Pops." Harry stared at the stone gargoyle and waited for it to move.

"Blood Pops?" Draco asked, perplexed. "Why did you –"

The blond let out a yelp when the statue rumbled and spun, ever so slowly, to reveal a stairway. Grey eyes widened in wonder as the gargoyle moved aside.

"Wow… I didn't… There weren't really any reasons for me to come here often so I didn't… know." Draco finished lamely. Harry chuckled and took Draco's hand.

"Come on; I'm sure Dumbledore is expecting us."

"What? How does he know?" Draco followed the brunet up the spiraling staircase. "I don't believe you."

"Trust me. He knows."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"Come on in, boys. I've been expecting you," Dumbledore greeted cordially once Harry and Draco stepped inside his large office; the elderly wizard was holding a quill, but he placed it down once the two teens appeared. "I had a feeling that you both might be visiting me today."

Draco gasped lightly so that only Harry could hear. Harry merely grinned and said nothing. When the old wizard gestured to the two wingback chairs in front of his desk, Harry and Draco both walked up to them and sat down. The fair-haired teen cleared his throat. Draco felt like shifting uncontrollably under Dumbledore's gaze, but that seemed rude. The Headmaster was smiling lightly; his blue eyes were sparkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you have something you wish to talk about?"

Draco cleared his throat and nodded once in reply. "I do, Headmaster… and please, call me Draco."

"Very well. Go on, Draco," the elderly wizard encouraged, "is it right of me to assume that you want to talk to me about your N.E.W.T.s?"

"Wha? How – You – Oh, forget it." Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, ignoring Harry's very unsubtle snicker. "Yes, Professor… I – I was wondering if – if I can take the N.E.W.T.s." Draco shook his head at Dumbledore when the older wizard tried to say something. "Please, Sir. Hear me out." Draco looked to the side; Harry was smiling encouragingly at him.

That gave him strength. Draco took a deep breath and explained to Dumbledore.

* * *

**.: Thirty minutes later – in private quarters :. **

"Wow… I can't – I don't… Wow." Draco shook his head, his eyes were slightly unfocused.

Harry, who was sitting next to the blond on the couch, chuckled. "Are you out of your shock yet?"

"I – No, not really."

The front portrait to the rooms gave a small rumble before opening, revealing Hermione and Ron on the other side. Both teens stepped inside; Ron dropped his book bag on the ground and shuffled over to the armchair, flopping down onto it. Hermione clucked her tongue and picked up his bag before walking over to the living room.

"Ron, how many times did I say _don't_ leave your things on the ground?" Hermione grouched; she dropped the heavy bag right into Ron's lap. "Take it to your room. One of these days, somebody's going to trip on it."

Ron rolled his eyes and lifted his bag off and then placed it on the ground next to his feet. He looked across and finally noticed the way Draco was mumbling something and Harry snickering.

"What's up with him?" Ron nodded his head at Draco. Harry grinned.

"Hey, guys," Harry greeted. "It's nothing; Draco's just a bit shocked right now."

"What an understatement," the blond muttered.

"Is Draco alright? Did something happen?" Hermione asked, concerned. She sat down next to Harry, and peered at the seemingly distressed blond. She gasped, remembering where Harry and Draco had gone. "Did Professor Dumbledore say no?"

Harry shook his head. "Since Draco can't answer, I'll do it." He laughed when the blond huffed. "It seems the Headmaster is going to let Draco take the tests. He was going to send Draco a note before we went to his office, to ask if Draco wanted to try to take his N.E.W.T.s." Harry tilted his head in Draco's direction. "Draco's just shocked that Dumbledore had agreed so easily."

"That's great!" Hermione squealed, and then she turned serious. "This means you have much studying to do, Draco. You're not going to just sit next to Harry and laugh at every little thing he does. You are going to be _part_ of the studying group."

Both Harry and Ron snickered while Draco groaned. They all knew how long and _torturous_ the sessions could be.

Hermione, who seemingly did not hear the snickers and a groan, continued on.

"… You know, we only have a week left." Hermione tapped her chin with her index finger. "I was thinking we should have study sessions every night from now on."

"WHAT!" The boys stared at Hermione as if she had just grown another head.

Hermione ignored their outburst and smiled. "I should write out a study plan… Or maybe…"

"Pfft. Study plan, she says," Ron grumbled. "More like a seven-hour torture."

"… Maybe… Can't I just study by myself? I can –" Draco started, but he stopped when Ron and Harry both glared at him. Draco rolled his eyes. "Okay. I get it. I'll suffer with you guys."

Harry smiled smugly. "That's right. No way do you get to escape Hermione's 'study plan' while we suffer." Ron nodded in agreement.

"What do you guys think of starting with Charms first?" Hermione asked, a huge smile on her face.

Harry, Draco, and Ron merely sighed and accepted their fate.

* * *

**.: Friday, May 26, 1998 – 9:40 p.m. seventeen years :.**

"You don't understand! We can't stop! Not for a second! This is important…" Hermione glared at Ron and Harry. "If you guys can't be serious about this, I'm going to my room and study by myself!" With an angry huff, Hermione collected her things and stood up, walking briskly to her bedroom.

The boys winced with the girl slammed the door shut. Draco cleared his throat and flipped a page in his Potions Book.

"I certainly had nothing to do with that outburst," Draco drawled.

Harry closed his eyes and massaged his temples; he could feel a headache coming.

Today was a day filled with events. First of all – and most important, in Harry's opinion – Draco turned seventeen. The first thing that Draco said when he saw Harry in the morning was, "Nothing changed."

Harry was more than relieved, to say the least. The very first thing he noticed of Draco was that the blond looked just as he was before the de-aging episode. But if Harry looked very closely, it seemed Draco filled out more, and not as lean. Height wise, Draco was pretty much the same.

Once his seventeen-year-old memories came crashing in, Draco confirmed that he did, in fact, have the same classes as Harry. All their studying did not go to waste.

Another thing Harry was quite happy about was that he did not have to hide his feelings anymore, and Draco had thought the same way.

If their kiss in front of Hermione and Ron was anything to go by.

Ron spluttered at their display of deep affection and Hermione giggled. They weren't too shocked since they knew of Draco and Harry's feelings for each other.

But what about the other people…?

They could worry about it later… Now, back to the matter…

"Hey! I was just telling Mione that we should take a short break," Ron said petulantly. "We've been at this for three hours straight, almost skipping dinner!" Ron slammed his head into his opened book. "My eyes were hurting, my brain felt like shutting down," he muttered into the pages. "If I didn't tell her to stop for a bit, I'm sure she would've made us go well into midnight."

"At least you could've said it more nicely," Draco smirked, "and not go, 'Just stop for a moment, Mione!'" He stopped snickering at the redheaded teen when Harry let out a sigh. "Harry? What's wrong?"

Harry stopped rubbing his temples and turned to look at Draco. "Nothing. Just… a bit tired, I guess. So much information to store; the N.E.W.T.s is on Tuesday and I'm not sure if I'll be ready by then." Harry closed his textbook and pushed himself away from the dining table. "I'll be in my room. Goodnight." Harry carded his fingers through Draco's soft, silky hair and leaned down to kiss Draco's forehead.

Draco watched Harry go, until he heard the door to the brunet's room closing.

Ron sighed. "This turned out to be not so great." He started stacking parchments together. "I think we should call it a night. Hermione's going to give us more work tomorrow." The redhead grimaced. "I have a bad feeling about that."

"Mm…" Draco hummed absentmindedly. Harry had forgotten his Potions book. "Look, we might as well stop. There's really no use to study when it's only me and you." He picked up both his and Harry's books. "I'll see you in the morning, Ron."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Draco knocked on Harry's door. He heard a muffled 'Who is it?' from the other side. The blond smiled lightly.

"It's me, Harry. Can I come in?"

A moment later, the door opened, revealing a rumpled looking Harry. Draco couldn't help but laugh at the way the green-eyed teen's hair looked.

"Harry, you left like ten minutes before me and you already looked like you took a nap." Draco stepped into the room when Harry opened the door wider.

"I did, actually," Harry replied; he let out a yawn. "I wasn't kidding when I said I was tired. I was going to read a bit more, but I made the mistake of doing it on the bed." Harry closed the door and shuffled after the blond. He flopped onto his bed and lay there. "My pillow looked inviting."

"And just _what_ were you reading?" Draco asked, as he sat down next to Harry. "I have your book." He patted the hard cover of the text that he had placed on his lap.

"Some other stuff… History of Magic." Harry sat up and stretched.

Draco watched as the brunet's shirt rode up, revealing a small sliver of tanned skin. He licked his lips and wondered how Harry would look sans shirt.

_Hm._

"Did Ron go into his room already?" Harry asked as he took the book from Draco's lap. He tossed it to the ground, near his book bag and waited for Draco to speak.

The blond, who had been busy staring at Harry's almost unnoticeable belly, looked into amused green eyes.

"Oh… Yeah, he went to sleep. I think." Draco frowned and shrugged. "I told him it was pointless to stay outside when half the group went to their respective rooms."

"Sorry," Harry apologized while rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't think I had a decent night of sleep after Hermione started with her study plan." Harry rolled his neck and winced. "I think I slept at a wrong angle last night; my neck is hurting something fierce."

"You just seem tense all over," Draco noted. "Lie down." Draco jerked his head in the direction of Harry's pillow.

"Wha – Why?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the blond but did as he was told. "What do you –"

"I want you to lie face down into your pillow."

Harry smirked at Draco and then waggled his eyebrows, making Draco snort. "Mmm… I love it when you order me around."

"Oh, shut up!" Draco laughed. "Now go do as you were told."

Harry huffed and rolled over. "Now what?"

Draco hummed and crawled over to Harry's prone body. He sat himself down on the back of Harry's thighs, right below the curve of Harry's arse. The brunet let out a yelp and was about to move, but Draco pressed a hand on his back.

"Don't move. I know some pretty mean massage techniques and I want to try them on you." Draco wiggled a bit, making himself comfortable. He ignored the small moan that came from Harry when he shifted on Harry's legs.

"Try them on me, you say," Harry muttered into his pillow. "Do you even _know_ how to massage?"

Draco sniffed indignantly. "Pansy does it to me and I learned some moves from her. She's got wicked hands." He smacked the side of Harry's right arm. "Now hold still; I'll start with your neck area since you said it hurts."

When Harry gave a grunt of consent, Draco leaned forward, putting some of his weight on Harry, and started pressing his fingers into the neck muscles. They were indeed tight and seemed to be in knots.

"Ohh…" Harry sighed and started to relax as Draco's touches made him sleepy. "You were right; you really do know some massage moves." Harry stayed silent for awhile and just enjoyed his massage. But then…

"You _did_ close the door, right?"

Draco arched an eyebrow even though Harry couldn't see. "Why do you ask? Does it matter? And you were the one that closed it."

"Oh... Well… If Ron or Hermione pass by…"

Draco laughed and continued massaging the boy beneath him. "Let them see. It's not like they don't about us. I was pretty sure they saw me kiss you this morning. Besides, we are fully dressed and it's not like we're _naked_ or something."

"You caused a scene! I thought Ron was going to have a heart attack right in front of us." Harry turned his head so that he could breathe better. "Can you go a little bit to the left? My tendon hurts."

Draco felt around the back of the brunet's neck. When he felt the tendon, Draco could feel how tight it was. Draco gave that a few good presses.

As time passed by, Draco's hands began to wander further down Harry's body. He glared at the offending shirt that was blocking his view of Harry's backside. If only he had asked Harry to take it off…

"Oh… Yess… Right there," Harry murmured blissfully.

Draco smirked and pressed down harder on Harry's sides. It's funny how the green-eyed teen wasn't ticklish there.

Soon, as Harry further enjoyed Draco's actions, he began to wiggle around more in content. Draco, on the other hand, was getting all hot and bothered by the constant wriggling.

He really shouldn't have chosen to sit so close to Harry's arse.

"Harry…" Draco said, but when Harry just sighed, Draco stopped massaging all at once. "Potter!"

"Why'd you stop?" Harry whined. "It was getting… nice."

"You better cease your wiggling or I swear I'm going to do something th –" Draco was cut off short when Harry rolled over, making Draco topple over and landing on his back. The blond gulped when he stared up into dancing green eyes.

"Why are you so red in the face? Is massaging such hard work?" Harry asked teasingly. "Or are you blushing because you're…" Harry slid down Draco's body, bending and kissing Draco's lips. The green-eyed teen pulled away and smirked. "… _really _bothered."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Get off, Harry, and let me finish."

"No." Harry bit his bottom lip and his pout then became a leer. "I feel much better now."

There was something in Harry's voice that made Draco shiver. In great anticipation. Also, those emerald orbs were shining with something close to lust.

"Harry…" Draco murmured just before Harry swept down and kissed him. Hard.

The blond whimpered into their kiss. It was an intense one, much better than the one they had shared that morning. This one… Harry was putting more into it. More feeling.

More love.

Harry pulled away, his lips swollen and wet from the kiss. He smiled when Draco just gawked at him, lips parted. The Gryffindor smiled lovingly down at his… Well, Harry didn't know what to call Draco. He never asked the blond to be his official boyfriend. When Draco continued to blink at him, Harry chuckled and placed a finger on the blond's lips. Draco snapped out of his stupor and closed his mouth.

"Harry…"

"Yes?"

Draco smiled – Harry was seeing Draco smile more than smirking nowadays – and wrapped his arms around the smaller teen, effectively trapping Harry.

"Are you continue or are we just going to stay like this for the rest of the night?" Draco asked; he licked his lips and saw Harry's eyes following.

"We – I – Oh, I don't…" Harry suddenly felt shy. "Did you like that? I don't want to force anything…"

Draco yanked Harry down and silenced the brunet with another bruising kiss.

"No, I don't mind. In fact, I _really_ want you to do that more often." Draco sighed and nuzzled the side of Harry's face. "Good thing you're kind of small… or else I would've suffocated by now, with you pressing down on me."

"Hey! I resent that!" Harry cried. But when Draco started carding his fingers through his hair, Harry melted and almost purred.

"We are perfect together…" Draco whispered. "Maybe… From now on, you can stay in my room? Or maybe I can stay in yours?"

Harry giggled into Draco's neck. "My bed is bigger. You should know."

"Mm… Yes, I do…"

"Good…" Harry moved their bodies around until they were both on the bed, facing each other. "You can stay here tonight. Be my personal pillow."

"Is that all I'm good for?" Draco arched an eyebrow at the brunet.

Harry shook his head. "No…"

A tanned hand snuck down between the bodies, fingers landing on Draco's waistband. The blond's breath hitched when he felt warm fingertips playing against the edge, dipping down…

"W – What are you…" Draco groaned when Harry's fingers pulled away. "Aren't we going… too fast?" Draco squeaked when Harry's hand went lower.

He didn't want Harry to feel just how _excited_ he was!

Harry moved closer, his hand sandwiched between them. He kissed Draco and then snuggled into the boy next to him. Harry smirked secretly when he felt the pulsing hardness trapped beneath Draco's pants. The brunet moved away a bit and looked up, seeing the flushed cheeks of Draco Malfoy.

"Oh? Well, I don't think we're going too fast," Harry murmured; he gave Draco a light squeeze and grinned when the usually composed teen whimpered pathetically. "I waited for this… Too long, Draco."

"You're going to be the death of me, Harry."

Said teen chuckled deep in his throat and wrapped his hand around the hardness. He smiled, almost evilly at the blond. Draco's eyes fluttered closed and let the pleasure spread through him.

"You're in for a long night, Draco…"

Draco relaxed and gave up trying to resist. Harry obviously didn't think they were going too fast. Who was he to stop Harry's ministrations? He let out a long, dragged out moan when Harry's pulled down his pants, his erection springing free from its confines. Warm fingers wrapped around the warm, hard flesh. Draco knew he died when Harry began stroking him.

_Yes, I am _definitely_ in for a long night._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Wow… finally finished o.o Ahem. Can you imagine the anticipation? xD


	25. Chapter 25: Together

A/N: Erm… . Uh… I don't know what to say; it's totally my fault. I've been slacking off pretty badly xD Anyways, I left off with some unfinished business in the last chapter… Also, no more putting the ages. This is due to the fact that Draco is back to seventeen; he'll have his original birthday now.

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!**

I blame the heat. The heat made my brain melt away. The inside of my skull is now… hollow :D

**Warnings: Small lemon. Sappy.**

I just wrote a smex scene in my other story! Dx I lack inspiration.

* * *

**Chapter 25**

_Together _

**.: Friday, May 26, 1998 – 10:12 p.m. :.**

"H-harry…" Draco groaned; his mouth parted and Draco began to pant.

_This is… too good_.

Using his elbows to support himself, Draco's eyes feasted at the sight down below.

His eyes were on Harry, who was currently stroking Draco's cock in an agonizingly slow pace.

"Any day now, Harry…" Draco said unsteadily, his breath hitching every now and then. "I would like to come before I turn twenty."

Harry snorted and gave Draco an unrelenting squeeze. He licked away the drop of pre-come that had formed at the slit. Harry smirked lightly when Draco let out a small whimper.

"Mm… You taste… better than what I had expected," Harry said huskily.

Draco growled low in his throat and placed his hands on top of Harry's head. He guided the dark-haired teen upwards and when he was close enough, Draco pulled Harry into a heated kiss, their bodies touching intimately. It was then that Draco noticed Harry was still fully clothed while he had his pants half pulled down. Draco turned his head to the side, breaking their kiss. Harry let out a small sigh and buried his head into Draco's shoulder.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Harry asked; he smiled into warm skin and pressed his hips down. He smirked when Draco let out a small gasp. "I can take care of you…"

"You tease…" With a grunt, Draco flipped them over, both of his hands were at the sides of Harry's head. He smiled when Harry grinned at him.

A sudden wave of concern washed over Draco and he frowned slightly. Harry caught the change in emotions and reached up to cup Draco's face.

"What's wrong, Draco?"

"I – I… Are you sure about this, Harry? Once we do this…"

Harry chuckled softly and moved his thumb, smoothing it across Draco's cheek. "I want this, Draco." A blush formed, making Harry's face pink. "I l-love you. For quite a long time."

Draco smiled and leaned down, kissing Harry and stopping any more words that Harry wanted to say.

"You daft sod…" Draco murmured fondly. "I love you, too. I just wanted to make sure… you wouldn't regret this afterwards."

Harry shook his head fervently. "No! I-I want this… I want _you_." Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's back and pulled the blond on top of him. "Please…" Harry whispered against Draco's ear. "Love me."

_Love me._

Draco closed his eyes and breathed in Harry's scent.

"I'll love you… I'll never stop."

* * *

"_Oh! H-hard…er! Please, Draco…!"_

Draco panted as he pounded into Harry's tight heat. He looked down at the writhing Harry and smiled.

Things had gotten rowdy and steamy after rounds of snogging with each other. At first, Harry was still shy about being so assertive. Draco had laughed at Harry, teasing the dark-haired teen. But when Harry continued to blush Draco took over and started a heated kissing session, since Harry had completely stopped his ministrations.

The kisses then led to touches, which in turn led to undressing. When they were both naked, Draco drank in the beautiful picture of a naked Harry sitting there, arms wrapped around himself. When Harry refused to look up, Draco gathered the smaller teen into his arms and whispered sweet things into his ear.

When Harry finally felt better and much more confident, Draco summoned his wand from his discarded pair of pants. He cast the Locking spell and the Silencing spell at Harry's bedroom door.

The last thing they wanted was for Ron or Hermione to come into the room.

Talk about mood killer.

"Dr-Draco! Stop thinking…" Even when he was consumed with pleasure, Harry noticed that Draco had slowed down, just a bit. "So close, so close…" Harry babbled; he hooked his feet together and tried to pull Draco deeper into him. "Don't… stop. Don't…" He moaned when Draco's cock pressed against his prostate.

"Like that?" Draco purred. All he got from Harry was a whimper.

"Sh-shut… Up!" Harry cried out when Draco thrust deep.

Draco smirked but faltered when Harry's squeezed his inner muscles, clamping down on his engorged cock. With a groan, Draco sped up his thrusts, hitting Harry's sweet spot everytime. He smiled when Harry mewled and thrashed beneath him.

He was beautiful…

"I-I…" Harry panted; he wailed when the teen on top of him thrust in hard and stayed that way.

"You what… Harry…?" Draco said though each intake of breath; his heart was beating very fast, and it was not just from their love making.

Green eyes found silver. Draco concentrated on the serene look on Harry's face. With a small smile, Draco watched as Harry reached up and caressed his face with his right hand.

"… I love you. Stay with me. Promise you'll be with me for – for a long time."

Draco closed his eyes and leaned down, capturing Harry's full lips.

"You don't have to ask. I promise, Harry…" Draco pushed himself up and started moving his hips, starting his rhythm again.

He was close. So very close…

Harry cried out, head tilted back, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. His muscles clenched around Draco, making the blond up his efforts. Two more hard thrusts later, he was coming, releasing himself deep into Harry's body. Harry was trembling beneath him, and when two arms wrapped around him, Draco let go and flopped on top of his lover.

Harry chuckled, but winced when Draco pulled out. "We need to work on your stamina, Draco. I like my man to be able to go for hours."

"Don't be cheeky with me," Draco muttered, but smiled as he kissed Harry's sweaty skin. He rolled off Harry's body and lay next to him. Turning to face the green-eyed teen, Draco searched for any signs of regret on Harry's face.

There were none.

"Harry… What –"

"We're together. I want this, Draco." Harry gave Draco a beautiful smile.

Draco signed; his breathing was almost back to normal. He searched for Harry's hand, and when he found it, he linked their fingers together.

"Together, huh? I like the sound of that…"

* * *

**.: Saturday, May 27, 1998 – 1:48 p.m. :.**

"Something happened last night. I can see it on your face," Hermione said; she studied her friend's expression closely. "You're practically glowing, Harry!"

Ron snickered and picked up his bottle of Butterbeer. He took a long swig before slamming the glass bottle back down onto the wooden table.

"Glowing? Harry got that goofy smile on his face ever since morning," Ron commented. "Not bloody surprising seeing how Draco came out _right after._"

Both Draco and Harry blushed at Ron's comment. Hermione giggled and leaned forward, folding her arms on the table. She peered at both of the teens and smiled.

"You guys are together!" She laughed when Harry turned red while Draco smirked. "More than that…" Hermione gasped. "You guys did – !"

A hand shot out and pinched Hermione's arm.

"Ow!" The girl pulled her arms back and glared at Harry.

"Stop shouting! There are _other_ people here!" Harry hissed; he scowled at his friend and slid closer to Draco. "Yes and… yes to what you were going to shout out before I stopped you." Harry was still blushing but now there was a small smile on his face.

"Yes, Hermione, you really don't need to scream it out to everybody here at Three Broomsticks," Draco drawled. He threw one arm around Harry and pulled the smaller teen closer to him. "Although, I must say… Harry's a screamer." Draco then grinned widely at the now giggling Hermione.

Both Harry and Ron groaned. Harry slapped Draco's thigh in reprimand.

"I don't need to know this…" Ron whined; he looked at Harry and shook his head. "But I'm glad you're happy with Draco, Harry."

The two friends looked at one another. Harry then let out a small chuckle.

"You are taking this quite well, Ron," Harry mused. "You're okay…" Harry looked to the side at his boyfriend. "… with us? With all of this?"

Ron blinked at Harry. "Why wouldn't I be?" Ron then turned his eyes on Draco. The redheaded teen looked back at Harry. "I know what you are thinking, mate. But we know _why_ Draco was like that and I can really see that he cares for you. I know blondie there would take good care of you."

Harry let out a surprised laugh while Draco cried, "Hey!"

Hermione smiled at the scene before her. She watched as Harry laid his head onto Draco's broader shoulder and also noticed the content smile on the green-eyed teen's face.

_Take care of him, Draco._

* * *

**.: Monday, May 29, 1998 – 6:14 a.m. :.**

Harry stared long and hard at the book in front of him. They would be taking their N.E. in a little more than one and a half hours.

Harry was not ready. This was why he got up at six in the morning; Draco – who was now permanently staying in Harry's room – was still fast asleep.

Jerk.

Harry sighed and flipped a page. There was so much information to store. He knew he should've studied more like Hermione told him to do, but Harry wasted his Sunday by lounging around their private quarters with Draco.

By the time Harry started freaking out, it was already too late. Draco made fun of Harry and suggested for the brunet to wake up at the break of dawn and study as much as he could.

Draco had meant it as a joke. Harry took it as a great suggestion.

Harry moved his finger along the line of words, mumbling to himself as he _tried_ to memorize some facts. He turned when he heard a soft shuffling from behind him. Harry smiled and got up, walking to his bed and sat down next to his waking boyfriend.

Draco moaned and rolled onto his back. Stretching his arms, he slowly opened his sleep-crusted eyes. The first thing he saw, even through the haze, were Harry's brilliant green eyes looking down at him. Draco smiled softly and reached up, putting his hand behind Harry's head and pulled the teen down.

Harry laughed and obliged Draco's command; he kissed Draco chastely and brushed the soft blond locks away from Draco's eyes.

"Why are you up so early? If I remember correctly, you said you have everything down." When Draco tried to pull him down again, Harry shook his head. "Morning breath, love. You can kiss me all you like _after _you brush your teeth." Harry chuckled when Draco scowled at him.

"You just have to go and ruin it, Potter," Draco muttered; he yawned and sat up when Harry backed away, giving him more room. Draco looked behind Harry and saw the opened text sitting on top of the desk. "You really woke up at dawn to study?" Draco looked at Harry worriedly. "You need rest, Harry; all the exams together are going to take at least five hours."

"I know… I have five classes and each exam is an hour long," Harry sighed, "and there are only ten minute breaks between each exam." Harry smiled in a carefree way at his worried boyfriend. "I'm fine, Draco. Maybe you should sleep some more while I continue with studying."

"I really was joking last night," Draco murmured; he leaned forward and brushed his lips against the tip of Harry's nose. He then cradled Harry's face and smiled warmly at the green-eyed teen. "I'll help you."

"Are you sure?" Harry frowned. "I don't want you to be all worn out when we actually take them."

"Don't worry about it; I wake up early naturally anyways." Draco got out of bed, and made his way to the bathroom. He looked back at Harry before entering. "I'll make sure you'll do fine today."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Hermione wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her when she found both Draco and Harry sitting in the living room portion of their private quarters, heads close together… studying. She stealthily made her way over to the two boys and stood behind the couch they were sitting on. She quirked a smile when she realized Draco was helping Harry with Potions. Hermione cleared her throat, notifying them that she was there.

Harry jerked in surprise at the sudden sound and turned around, grinning when he saw his friend.

"Morning, Hermione," Harry greeted; he then nudged Draco to scoot over to make room for the girl. "Sit with us. You can help me, too."

Hermione chuckled softly and sat next to Harry. "I wish Ron was more like you. He's still sleeping."

Harry shrugged and pressed the side of his body closer to Draco. "Maybe Ron's more confident than I am. I'm just a bit worried about Potions."

Draco looked over Harry's mop of hair and nodded at Hermione. "Morning."

Hermione let out a very unladylike snort. "It certainly is, but good morning to you as well. The sun's not even fully out yet."

"Yeah… I don't think I've ever woken up at six before…" Harry frowned, "this will be my first and last time."

Draco chuckled and kissed Harry's temple. "Just a few more pages, and then we can have breakfast." He smiled warmly when Harry immediately perked up and returned the kiss.

Hermione sat there, watching them. She provided help when Harry asked her some questions, but most of the time she had let Draco do the teaching. Hermione was glad that they are finally an item. She wasn't kidding when she told Harry he was glowing on Saturday. Her friend was absolutely radiant.

_Something good came out from Parvati's spell after all…_

* * *

**.: Monday, May 29, 1998 – 9:02 a.m. :.**

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned. "You seem a bit peaky."

Harry groaned and fell back against the hard stone wall behind him. He had just endured an extremely long, awful hour.

The exam for Potions was first.

When Harry first laid his eyes on the words, his head began to swim. He had frowned and scowled at the questions. More than once, Harry was sure he had damaged his quill by jabbing the pointed end onto the offending parchment. Also, there was no doubt that he had pulled out quite a few strands of his own hair.

It wasn't until Hermione touched his shoulder that Harry returned to the present time.

"Oh… Sorry." Harry shook his head and smiled at Hermione. "I'm… I'm just glad _this_ exam is over." He looked up and down the hallway, pouting when he didn't see the person he wanted to see most. "Have you seen Draco, Hermione?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He came out a few minutes after me. Draco said something about going back to our quarters though."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed together. "Why? He shouldn't since we only have –"

"Harry?"

The teen in question turned around, happy to hear the voice of his boyfriend. He grinned and waited until Draco was there with him and Hermione.

"Draco, why'd you go back to our rooms?" Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and placed his head on the taller teen's shoulder. Draco smiled and pulled Harry closer to him.

"I just wanted to get something," the blond answered. "I thought you might want something to wake you up."

Harry moved back and tilted his head to the side. "Get me what?"

Draco smirked and fished around his robe pocket, producing a small box that contained a Chocolate Frog. Harry's eyes widened with glee; he took the box from Draco and smiled happily.

"Oh yes, that will wake him up alright," Hermione laughed, "but where'd you get it, Draco?"

Draco's attention was all on Harry, watching the green-eyed teen open the box with such jubilation. He smiled softly when Harry let out a happy sigh when he finally bit down into the frog.

Draco turned his eyes onto the girl and shrugged. "Just asked a house-elf to bring me a bag."

"Mm mmg?" Draco stared at Harry; the green-eyed teen swallowed the chocolate in his mouth and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I said 'a bag'."

Draco chuckled and carded his fingers through Harry's hair. "Yes, a bag. There's more than enough to help you through the day." When Harry looked at Draco expectantly, the blond sighed and opened his school bag. "Here…" Draco fished around until he had the plastic bag in his hand.

"Yes!" Harry snatched the bag away from his boyfriend and stuffed it into his own school bag. He then went on his tip toes to give Draco a chaste kiss.

A genuine smile appeared on Draco's face. "Don't you _dare_ eat them all in one go."

"I won't," Harry said.

"I wouldn't trust him if I were you," Hermione said, laughing.

Harry pouted as his boyfriend and friend laughed at him.

* * *

**.: Monday, May 29, 1998 – 1:51 p.m. :.**

Harry's head connected to the hard surface with a small 'thunk' when he dropped his head onto the table. He, Draco, Hermione, and Ron were now all in the Great Hall eating their long awaited lunch. All five exams were taken and the worst was over and done with.

Now, it was time for a good rest.

Draco shook his head slightly and wrapped his arm around Harry. "Come on, love. Eat your lunch and you can rest your brain as long as you want."

"I don't think it's even in there anymore," Harry muttered moodily. "It feels – no, scratch that – it _is_ hollow."

"I'm right there with you, mate," Ron agreed, "my head feels the same way."

Hermione huffed and finished up her sandwich. She then dabbed her mouth with a napkin and glared at Ron. "You wouldn't be feeling that way if you actually studied, Ronald."

"I did!"

As he and Hermione bickered back and forth across from Harry, Draco tugged at Harry's arm until the green-eyed teen was looking at him.

"Let's get out of here," Draco whispered. "Don't you think this is a nice time to… you know, _celebrate_?"

Harry's eyes widened, and then darkened. He smiled at Draco and kissed him square on the lips.

"Draco, I _love_ the way you think."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Wow… That took way too long! I'm mad at myself. Anyways, I'm just glad I got this chapter done with. I am also sad to say that there might only be two more chapters left to this story. Graduation and an epilogue: life after Hogwarts ;D

Thanks for reading! :D


	26. Chapter 26: Top or Bottom?

A/N: I really dislike school and RL. Working and homework really killed me lol ;X But anyway, here's the next chapter.

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!**

It finally feels like autumn here in Cali. No more 100 degrees weather, burning cars, and stuffy rooms xD

**Warnings: Nothing special. Just your daily dose of nonsense from me :D Short chapter. I warned you.**

I'm such a lazy ass…

* * *

**Chapter 26**

_Top or Bottom?_

**.: Saturday, June 3, 1998 :. **

"Draco?"

Harry smiled when the teen in question tightened his hold on his hand. Draco looked to the side and smiled at his green-eyed boyfriend.

"What is it?"

It was another Hogsmeade weekend, which meant the seventh years had the privilege to go visit the village whenever they pleased. For Harry Potter, today was the day he was supposed to find the perfect birthday present for his boyfriend, Draco Malfoy.

This morning, the green-eyed teen had joked about Draco having two birthdays now in a way – one of his real birth, and the other when he was 'born' again due to the spell. A cheery gleam was apparent in Draco's eyes and had told Harry that he wouldn't mind receiving presents for both of his birthdays.

That earned him a smack from Harry.

So now, three hours later, they were strolling down the streets of Hogsmeade, with Harry dragging Draco to every store window. Draco didn't mind one bit; he was just glad to spend some quality time with Harry.

"Well… Back to what I said this morning…" Harry started; he pulled Draco to the side of the street they were on, stopping at a store that sold clothing. Harry looked through the window and smiled. "What would you like, Draco?" Harry asked, his eyes were lingering on the items at the other side of the glass window and not on his boyfriend.

"You." Draco smiled when his Harry laughed merrily. He loved making Harry happy…

"Be serious, Draco, and you have me already," Harry chided, but was still smiling. "It's my first time getting you a birthday present…" Harry paused and pouted at the blond. "Well… First time since you're back to your rightful age."

Draco chuckled and used his thumb to smooth over Harry's pouting lips.

"It doesn't matter, Harry," Draco answered. "Anything's fine."

Harry scoffed and pulled the blond with him, going away from the store windows.

"You say that now, and when I give you the present, you'll start whining." Harry grinned when Draco scoffed beside him. "I don't think I'm getting you clothes; you have way too much already." Harry then sighed softly and walked closer to his taller boyfriend.

"What's wrong?" Draco could feel something was bothering the green-eyed teen beside him.

"Nothing… It's just… We'll be graduating soon, Draco." Harry turned and smiled sadly at Draco. "Something's… just bothering me, that's all, and I don't really know how or what to do about it."

For the rest of that morning, Harry was subdued and Draco was determined to get answers out of his boyfriend.

* * *

"Harry, why don't you get a table for us? I need to stop by a store. I saw something that I want to get," Draco told Harry as they stood right outside the Three Broomsticks.

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously, a small frown on his face. "Why can't we go together?"

Draco rolled his eyes and pushed Harry towards the doorway to Three Broomsticks. "I'll be back really quick. I just need to – to get some parchment."

Harry was about to retort, but Draco stopped it with a kiss. The blond smirked when he pulled away; Harry sighed and gave in.

"Alright, fine!" Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't take too long or I _might_ just eat without you."

Draco reached out and cupped Harry's face, leaning in and gave Harry one last kiss before departing.

"You can order for me if you like," Draco murmured as he pulled away. "You know what I want."

Harry chuckled and nodded, green eyes shining with mirth. "The mushroom and cheese soufflé; you practically fell in love with it after you stole a bite from mine when you were four."

"It was good!" Draco retorted indignantly. "I do not understand why you would give a four year old child a large hamburger, one that was almost as big as my face." Draco sniffed and looked down at the still smiling Harry. "Tell them I want more mushroom in my soufflé."

Harry gave his boyfriend a mock salute. "Yes, sir!" He laughed when Draco shoved him playfully.

"Prat," the blond muttered. "I'll be back soon. Fifteen minutes, tops!"

Harry shook his head and flapped his hand at Draco, dismissing him. "Go on." With one last look, Harry walked into Three Broomsticks, the door closing shutting behind him.

Draco sighed and started walking in the direction of his desired shop. He hated lying to Harry, but it was necessary. He did not want his boyfriend to be there when he buy what he had wanted to give Harry, back when he was de-aged.

Oh, yes. He remembered quite clearly about that day… the _shiny_ stone behind the frosted windows. It was a glistening, silvery circular object – an object with Celtic knots – that caught his fancy that day, and now that Draco thought about it, it was a _pair. _Two of them nestled within a velvet box lined with satin.

_That will be my gift to Harry… I want him to be with me, let me make him happy. Hope he understands._

* * *

**.: Sunday, June 4, 1998 :. **

"Hah! Draco!" Pansy cried out, her face red from consuming too much alcohol. "You – you're finally eighteen! You are _old_!" She raised her glass at the blond and pressed the rim to her lips, throwing her head back and downed the Firewhiskey in one gulp. "Well… _almost _eighteen. Not eighteen yet, Drakie; you're the baby out of us three."

Blaise rolled his eyes and forcefully snatched the now empty glass from Pansy's grip. The girl glared at him and dropped her head on Blaise's shoulder.

"You're no fun, Blaise…"

"Yeah… You'll thank me in the morning." The Slytherin winced when Pansy smacked him hard on his chest.

Draco chuckled and set his own glass down onto the table. He knew how low Pansy's tolerance was towards Firewhiskey.

"Blaise just doesn't want you to pass out here in Gryffindor territory," Draco told his friend.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked at Draco. Harry smirked at his boyfriend, who was sitting at his left.

"_You're_ here. Does that make you part Gryffindor?" Harry asked slyly.

"I'm as good as," Draco answered, his head held high. "I _am_ dating a Gryffindor, am I not?"

"Drakie… You no Slytherin… You went soft!" Pansy slurred from across the table. "Potter made you all…" Pansy waved her hand around in the air. "… Lovey."

"Pansy, you're drunk," Draco deadpanned, "and never call me Drakie ever again." Draco's lips curled in disgust. "I specifically told you to stop calling me that when I turned six years old."

Pansy giggled and snuggled deeper into the crook of Blaise's neck. "Buh you good with 'Arry… You're happy – hic – happy together."

Harry chuckled at Pansy's comment. "I'm glad you approve of me, Pansy."

"I think she approved of you ever since you agreed to take care of Draco, despite your past with our blond friend," Blaise said, shaking his head when Pansy let out another hiccup.

Pansy merely nodded, too intoxicated to answer properly.

Hermione cleared her throat and folded her napkin. "We know now. You and Pansy treat Draco as your brother…" She looked at Draco. "I'm just glad… glad to know the things before were all for show. I don't think I'd ever stop worrying about Harry otherwise." Hermione raised her glass at Draco. "Happy early birthday, Draco."

Draco smiled at the girl and raised his own glass in thanks. He found Harry's hand and linked their fingers together.

"Thank you for holding this small gathering, Harry."

"Don't worry about it," Harry whispered and leaned close to kiss Draco's cheek.

"Aww… So cute!" Pansy cooed and let out a snort-like laugh. Draco flushed pink and Ron choked on his mouthful of cake.

"Cute?" Ron grimaced and brushed the front of his shirt, getting rid of cake crumbs. "Draco Malfoy, cute? Ugh…"

"Shut up, Weasley," Draco said sharply; he looked over at Pansy and scowled. "And you, Pans, stop saying things like cute and adorable. Remember, I don't do _cute_."

"Oh, yes you do," Harry chirped and promptly pinched Draco's right cheek.

Harry smiled angelically when his boyfriend snarled at him.

Pansy hummed and took a bottle of Firewhiskey that was within her reach. She brought the whole thing to her lips and took a hearty swig. With a contented sigh, she held the bottle in front of Blaise's chest. Blaise rolled his eyes and took it from her.

"Mm… Can – hic – I ask you something, Po – Harry?"

Harry, who was fending off Draco's tickling fingers, gave his boyfriend's hand a final smack before turning to Pansy.

"Sure thing."

Pansy smiled almost wolfishly at the green-eyed teen. Harry gulped.

Oh boy.

"If you don't mind me asking – hic – who… who tops?" Pansy giggled and covered her mouth, letting out a rather unladylike belch.

The whole room fell silent.

Hermione rubbed her forehead in embarrassment, although she was smiling; Ron choked on his cake – again. Blaise's eyes turned round before closing them, shaking his head. Draco's mouth turned into a nasty sneer. And Harry… Harry snorted.

"Pansy! What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?!" Draco barked, his cheeks red. "That's – that is private and none of your business!" Grey eyes landed on Blaise. "You!" Draco pointed at his dark-skinned friend. "Take her back! If she stays any longer she'll spill all my secrets."

Blaise winced and tugged the bottle of Firewhiskey away from Pansy – she was fighting for it while Draco was yelling.

"She did and she was sober," Blaise muttered under his breath. Shaking his head, Blaise stood up, dragging a very drunk Pansy with him. "We'll take our leave now. She'll have one heck of a hangover tomorrow morning. And it's a Monday. Pansy will be screaming bloody murder."

Harry stood up as well and went over to them. "Do you need help bringing her back to the Slytherin common room?"

"Nah, I'll be fine," Blaise answered. "Oh, before I forget…" With one arm around Pansy's waist, Blaise used his free hand to reach into his robe. Taking out two small boxes, he handed them over to Harry. "Draco's presents. I almost forgot to give it to the birthday boy there." Blaise nodded at Draco, who was still scowling at Pansy. "Didn't get a chance since we came in and just started drinking and eating," Blaise chuckled, "it was fun though. Thanks for inviting us, Harry."

"No need to thank me. You two are Draco's best friends; both of you are automatically invited, no questions asked," Harry replied, smiling warmly. He looked down at the tiny boxes in his palm. "Er… I don't mean to be rude, but are the presents really that… small?" Harry poked at them with his index finger.

Blaise let out a chuckle. "No, no… You have to enlarge them again. Had to fit them into my pocket somehow." He winked at Harry and then waved at everybody else. "Goodnight, people!"

Draco got up from his seat and sauntered over to his friends. With a firm slap on Blaise's shoulder, Draco tilted his head at Pansy.

"Give her a potion, Blaise," Draco said to his friend. "There should still be some in the bedside table by my bed… Things were untouched, right?"

"Oh… Yes. Nothing was moved during the time you were de-aged." Blaise nodded knowingly. "I'll give it to Pansy when we get back."

"Hehe… Night, Draco… 'Appy birthday…" Pansy's arm flapped at the other people in the room. "Buh bye."

Draco and Harry walked them to the door. With a small sigh, Draco threw his arm across Harry's shoulders and guided the shorter teen back inside.

* * *

**.: Monday, June 5, 1998 :.**

"Exactly _what_ did I do last night?" Pansy asked, nudging Harry.

They were partnered up once again for potion brewing. Professor Snape was sitting at his desk at the moment, his head was down as he graded what seemed to be essays from a lower year class.

Harry let out a small chuckle and grabbed a jar of lacewing flies. He twisted the lid and took out four flies and flicked them into the boiling cauldron.

"You seriously do not remember?" Harry asked incredulously; his green eyes were shining with curiosity.

"Uh…" Pansy turned her head a bit and found Draco's eyes boring into her. She shuddered slightly and turned away. "Not… really. I _think_ I remember some stuff. Like… saying Draco was old and… calling him Drakie." Pansy smoothed her hands over her grey knee length skirt. "Merlin, Draco hated that nickname. I was REALLY drunk."

"Ah, but I don't think those things made him –" Harry flicked his hand towards the back where Draco and Hermione were sitting, "– looking so pissed off at you."

"I said something _worse _than 'Drakie'?" Pansy rubbed her temples. "You know, I woke up all groggy this morning. I practically _cried_ when I saw the Hangover potion."

"Draco told Blaise to give you one. Draco knew how you are with alcohol," Harry murmured; he threw in a piece of mandrake root. Harry flinched away from the cauldron when it started sizzling.

Pansy absentmindedly made the fire less intense. She had her elbows on the table and her head cradled in her hands.

"My mind's all fuzzy." She scowled at Harry. "Tell me now, Potter."

"Well…" Harry snorted. "_I _personally thought it was funny you asked that question. Draco, on the other hand, was furious. He snapped at Blaise and told him to take you away before you spill any more secrets."

Pansy hummed and stirred the bubbling potion. She could hear Draco and Granger bickering behind her. Why Professor Snape partnered them up was anybody's guess. They might be friendly privately, but during school hours, they fought to be the best in any class they had together.

They were probably arguing about how fast they should stir the potion.

"He already knows about me telling you of the bracelet debacle," Pansy muttered. "Draco guessed it himself."

"You really want to know, Pansy?" Harry asked, baiting the girl. "I'll tell you, but don't tell him that I did. He really thinks it's a private matter."

"Must be something serious…" Pansy murmured, but then a smirk appeared on her face. "Spill, Harry."

"You asked him who topped," Harry said, plain and simple.

"What?!" Pansy half-shrieked; she cleared her throat and smiled at Snape when he looked up sharply at her. Pansy let out a sigh of relief when the man just looked back down again. She turned to look at Draco again; the blond was still arguing – or talking. Pansy didn't care. When she looked back at Harry, the green-eyed teen was smirking.

"Yeah, no joke. You asked that."

"Oh – oh… He's going to _murder_ me!" Pansy hissed. "Damn it, I'm never touching Firewhiskey again."

Harry watched as the girl fidgeted on her stool. Her hands were wringing together and Pansy was abusing her bottom lip. Harry snickered and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You want to know, right? I can tell just by your body language."

"Yeah, well… I'm curious, but I – It's really none of my… Oh, what the hell." Pansy pouted at Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I have no problem saying that I bottomed."

"Hah – What!? Tell m –"

Harry slapped his hand over the excited girl's mouth and groaned. He glanced at his boyfriend; Draco had an eyebrow arched and Harry knew he was in trouble.

"Potter! What in the bloody blazes is going on?!" Snape barked from his desk.

"Pansy, calm down and shut it," Harry whispered. Pansy mumbled something from behind his hand and nodded. He took his hand off her mouth and Pansy took a deep breath.

"Oh, it was nothing, Professor," Pansy said sweetly. "I – Potter dropped some caterpillar heads on my lap that's all."

_Slytherin_, Harry thought amusedly.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape drawled and went back to correcting essays.

"Thanks, Pansy," Harry ground out. "No more outbursts."

"You just made my day, Harry. I am one happy witch."

Harry clucked his tongue and tossed a few caterpillar heads into the cauldron.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: I… I… finished – falls off my chair and stays on the ground –

Miscalculation on my part. So sorry about that. I said there were only two more chapters last time… but it seems – looks at outline – I have at least two more to go :O More to read. This chapter is just full of whatevers… lol. Pansy is a happy drunk :D

**Next up:** Graduation and an unexpected surprise (or maybe not unexpected…).

**Harry: **I think someone should call the ambulance… Luna's out cold.  
**Me: **X.x  
**Draco:** She's fine. Look, she's snoring.

LunaParvulus is tired; it's 12:42 a.m. now Dx Sleep welcomes me…


End file.
